Kinrat - The Lost Scout
by Lady Aurora
Summary: An alternate universe fic. Earth gets itself another Saiya-jin! Please R&R!
1. Kinrat The Lost Scout: Part One

DISCLAIMER: All characters from Dragonball Z belong to TOEI, FUNImation, Cartoon Network, and YTV. They're not mine, I'm just borrowing them. All other characters are figments of my imagination and kinda, sorta, belong to me. If you'd like to use them, let me know and we'll work something out.

NOTE: I've fiddled with the timeline a bit and have totally ignored the Bardock Special timeline. It did happen, just four years before the start of DBZ like Radditsu said at the beginning of the Saiyan Saga. Also, there's Japanese in this fic. I'll post up translations soon.

Kinrat - The Lost Scout  
Part One

* * *

15 BF

The soft sound of running feet vibrated through the empty corridor. Seconds later, a small girl dressed in a black body-sleeve and bodysuit armor came skidding around the corner and hurtled down the hallway.

"She's in hallway 22J Section A!" A voice called over the loudspeakers. "Give it up kid, there's no where you can hide!"

She ignored him and kept running. _He promised he'd be here!_ Wailed across her juvenile mind. _ There's no way I'm going until he gets here! _She skidded around another hallway and then hit the brakes when she almost crashed into several large adults.

"Gotcha!" The tall male adult with dark spiky hair snarled as he lunged for her.

The girl ducked under his swinging arms and immediately reversed course, only to find her escape blocked by several more adults.

"Come on, brat, its time to go." A tall woman with close cropped hair growled.

The young girl vigorously shook her head, "No! Not until Tamotes gets here!" She replied defiantly, she took a few running steps and slid herself across the floor and slid right between the legs of one of the adults. With a laugh, she was back on her feet and sprinting back down the hallway.

"Kuso!" Spiky Hair swore, "For a second class brat, she sure is fast!"

The girl turned left, knowing right would just lead her back to the launching pads, quickly making her way deeper into the complex. She was just about to turn another corridor when her sensitive ears caught the angry murmur of adult voices. She pressed herself up against the wall and cautiously peeked around the corner.

"The King is going to have our heads if we don't find the brat and clear the launching pads!" It was Spiky Hair and Tall Woman.

"Forget the King, Frieza'll do the job if the Prince is late!" Tall Woman snarled.

"I don't know why they didn't just cull that brats family line a long time ago." Spiky Hair complained. "They're all abnormal anyway!" He shuddered.

The girl frowned and absently brushed her non-existent bangs back out of habit. Her frown deepened as her hand brushed across her close cropped head, first they'd cut off all of her long black hair, then they'd decided to shove her into her capsule early, and now they were insulting her family! A soft growl made its way up from her throat and an evil grin came to her face as an idea blossomed in her mind. She quickly unclipped her scouter from the back of her armor and settled it onto her face. Her grin grew as she tapped the button on the side and the palm of her right hand started to glow. She watched the reading until the numbers counted upwards and reached her own level. With the genetic knack of her family, she quickly twisted the built-up energy into a small compact ball which she quickly hurled down the hallway across from her.

She heard her two pursuers scouters beep wildly as the little ball skittered down the hallway. "She's down there!" Tall Woman exclaimed. Seconds later, the two of them went running down the hallway, following the phantom ki signature.

The girl suppressed a giggle as she took off down the hallway the two adults had just abandoned. _Thank you Otousan for showing me that trick!_ But she didn't get far before she almost ran into another group of searching adults. Panicked, she hit the door release of the nearest metal door and dived through the opening door.

She found herself in a lavishly decorated apartment, her eyes widened at the amount of wealth that decorated the room._ Whoever lives here, must be an Elite!_ She thought in awe and her dark eyes darted around the room, drinking it in. She was about to investigate the lush springiness of one of the chairs when the door opened. The girl let out a small yelp and dived behind the heavy draperies.

"I'm terribly sorry, Sire! I don't know what's causing the delay but I'm sure they'll work it out soon!" A whiny male voice was saying.

"It'd better be soon," A deep voice rumbled menacingly. "If the Prince is late, and all our plans are ruined, it'll be you who'll pay, toad!"

"Yes, Sire! I understand, Sire!" Whiny voice groveled.

"Wait here." Deep voice rumbled and then she heard the door hiss shut again.

The girl almost held her breath as she heard the soft rustle of the person who was left behind move around the room. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears and, for a moment, she could have sworn it was audible outside of her draped hiding place. She sighed softly and shifted to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, that stirred up some of the dust that had been missed by the servants and it came up and tickled her nose. The girl clamped both her hands over her ticklish nose, silently praying she wouldn't do what she was about to, and fought back the oncoming sneeze. 

"Ah ah AAACCCHHHOOO!!!!" Whistled out from behind the curtains as the girls nose won the battle.

A split second later, the drapes were yanked back and the girl found herself being hauled out from her hiding place and violently tossed across the room. She did an awkward mid-air flip and managed to land on her hands and knees. She immediately sprang to her feet and crouched, ready to meet her aggressor.

And then she blinked. Her scouter bleeped and counted upwards.

Then blinked again as her mind registered what was standing across from her.

It was a boy, and judging from the power reading he was an Elite already. He looked to be a few years older than her, maybe eight or nine, and he was staring at her with an equal amount of surprise as she felt. Her eyes flickered across his fancier style of armor that included a cape that fell to his ankles, up to his gravity defying hair and then back down to his face. 

The boy recovered quickly and his face shut down to a cool aloof gaze. "Who are you?" the boy asked, his tone cool.

The girl straightened out of her battle crouch and she smiled shyly, "I'm Kinrat." She replied. "That was a neat move you used, can you teach me it?" 

The boy raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?" He asked, ignoring her request.

Kinrat frowned, she wasn't sure if she liked this boy. "Hiding." She told him, simply.

"From what?" The boys other eyebrow joined its mate.

"The adults." Kinrat snarled.

"Why?"

Kinrat looked up and saw a curious glint in his cold eyes, she grinned, "They want to shoot me into space and I don't want to go." She stated, bringing her small hands defiantly down on her hips. "At least, not yet." She added.

"Why not?" The boy asked. "Everyone goes out into space, even I'm going"

"I just don't want to go yet!" Kinrat snapped, startling him by her interruption. "My niisan said he'd be there when I went, but he's not here yet so I'm waiting for him to come!"

"Your niisan?" the boy actually sounded surprised.

Kinrat nodded, "Hai, he was sent away on a mission a few days ago but he said he'd be back for my launching." She told the boy, "He promised me, so I'm not letting them send me until he comes." Kinrat sighed and started to wander around the room, running her fingers across everything she could reach. "Stupid adults!" She muttered angrily.

_ Stupid baka! _ The boy thought as he watched her, "How come it's so important you see him before you go?" He found himself asking._ Why am I asking her? Why do I even care!?_

"Well," She said hesitantly and then she shrugged. "'Cause he's my oniisan, but I guess, being Elite Class, guess you don't understand." She said softly.

"No, I don't. Explain it to me!" the boy ordered arrogantly.

Kinrat looked at him curiously, "Sure?"

The boy nodded.

She came forward and fished her necklace out from under the top of her bodysuit. "See these?" She showed it to the boy. 

The boy looked down at the necklace, attached to a short leather thong was two deadly looking, yellowish white, blunted claws from some huge animal, he nodded.

"'Kay, these are the claws of a beast called Deesurga on a planet that my brother was assigned to clear out." She ran her fingers across the large blunted claw. "Oniisan was attacked by one of them while he was clearing out a nest of the natives, who were putting up quite a fight. He killed the beast, and it was hard because it was huge!" She stood on her tiptoes and gestured just how huge it was with her hands. "After the natives saw my Oniisan kill it with his bare hands, they surrendered immediately. The natives on the planet thought that the Deesurga contained all the fighting spirit of their planet and to carry their claws would help a warrior in battle so my Oniisan took them and brought them back home. He gave one to my mother and one to my father and other brother, he gave me these two after he took to point off though." She trailed off and smiled. "Now we all have the fighting spirit and we'll all survive as a family!"

The boy blinked, incredulous, and then looked down at the claws curiously. "Do they work?" He asked._ Could these things really give a warrior more power? _

Kinrat nodded, "Yup! Otousan and Oniisan have been on lots of missions that have wiped out a lot of the Elites and they've come back alive, and stronger too!" She giggled.

"Can I? Can I have one?" the boy asked hesitantly.

Kinrat looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then her expression softened as she saw a bunch of emotions she'd never seen in an Elites eyes before, worry, concern, and a little bit of fear. She knew exactly what he was feeling but being Second Class she could at least show it. She suddenly felt very sorry for him. _ Kaasan always said I was too much of a throwback! _She smiled at the boy and began to take off the necklace and untie the claw from the thong.

"Just where are you going, anyway?" Kinrat asked. "Must be someplace kinda scary if you wanna take a Deesurga claw with you."

The boy looked startled for a moment, then looked fearfully around the room before his shoulders slumped slightly and he let out a big sigh. "It is kinda. See, I'm being sent someplace to be trained" He started to say.

Just then the door opened. Both Kinrat and the boy looked guiltily towards the door and Kinrat let out a yelp. It was Spiky Hair and Tall Woman! Behind them she could see another tall man with the same upswept hair as the boy.

"There you are!" Tall Woman growled as she strode into the room. "Come 'mere, brat!"

"NO!" Kinrat shrieked and hid behind the boy. "Not until Tamotes gets here!"

Tall Woman and Spiky Hair exchanged exasperated glances and then looked back at Tall Hair behind them.

"What is this?" Tall Hair demanded, he was the deep voice she'd heard earlier.

"This is the child we told you about, Sire." Spiky Hair said angrily. "The stupid thing refuses to get into her pod."

Tall Hair pushed his way through the two warriors and glared at Kinrat, she started to tremble.

"Please!" She whimpered, clutching at the boys cape. "I don't want to go!"

Tall Hair's eyes narrowed, "You're Leekin's daughter, aren't you?" He asked.

Kinrat nodded, "Yessir!"

She could have sworn she heard Tall Hair sigh, "If your family wasn't so valuable, I would have culled your throwback family a long time ago!" He growled. "Now go with Tomros and Pundra and get into your pod!"

Kindra starting to vigorously shake her head, "Nooo!" She whimpered as Tomros and Pundra reached towards her. "I won't go!"

"Stop!" the boy commanded.

The two warriors froze and looked back over at Tall Hair. "What are you doing?" Tall Hair demanded.

"She doesn't want to go yet." The boy said, a steely edge to his voice. He stepped between them and her.

"What she wants doesn't matter!" Tall Hair growled. "Now get out of the way!"

The boy lifted his chin defiantly, "No." He said dangerously.

Tall Hair gave a low growl and quickly covered the distance between them. He grabbed the boy by the front of his armor and lifted him off of the ground until he was face level.

"I don't know where this came from, brat!" Tall Hair hissed. "But I am still your father and you're still on my planet so you still follow my orders, got it?"

_Ohmigod! That's the KING!!_ Kinrat thought, panic stricken._ I'm in trouble!_

She darted between the Kings legs and tried to make a break for the door. Tomros was ready for her this time and snagged her tail as she passed. But instead of paralyzing her with pain like it would have with any other Saiya-jin, it just threw her into a rage. She spun around and started hitting, biting, kicking, hissing growling, and scratching at her captor. Tomros held the little hell-Saiya-jin child at arms length by the tail and laughed.

"Save some of that for your planet, brat!" He chuckled.

"How is she doing that?" Pundra wondered, her own tail aching in sympathy.

King Vegeta placed his son back onto the floor and looked at the enraged child thoughtfully. "I have heard of some of the lower class warriors working on desensitizing their tails," He explained. Kinrat was starting to wind down from her fit and just hung there upside-down glaring angrily at all of them. "Leekin must have done the same with his children." He looked down at his son. "If a lower class Saiya-jin can do it, so can you."

Prince Vegeta nodded, not taking his eyes off the girl, his expression unreadable. King Vegeta looked from his son, back to the girl, and then back to his son. He raised an eyebrow and quirked a small smile. He looked back at the girl and tapped the side of his scouter, curious as to what her level was. His eyes widened slightly as the numbers counted upward and then stopped. _Hmmm, that's low-end first class, he thought, she just might make Elite by the time she's full grown. _Perhaps then they can meet again Then he frowned, _No, there's no time to be thinking about future match-making! I have a plan to set in motion._

__

"Take her to the launching pads." He ordered.

"NO!" Kinrat shrieked. "VEGETA-SAN, HELP ME!" She held her hands out to the Prince and her eyes looked pleadingly at him.

"Tou-sama!" the boy growled, his small body trembling with barely suppressed rage.

"Take her!" King Vegeta barked.

Tomros and Pundra nodded, and with her still hanging by her tail, started to leave. King Vegeta gave his son's shoulder a small shove and motioned him to follow. The boy shot his father a venomous glare before following the two warriors out of the room. 

The five Saiya-jins made their way through the complex, not a word was exchanged between them and the only sound was Kinrats soft mewling sobs. They emerged out into the open air of the launching pads and several helmeted launch techs breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the runaway child. They rushed forward and snatched the child out of Tomros' grasp, spouting apologies to the King as they tried to place her into her space pod.

Kinrat had decided that she wasn't going to be helpful and did everything she could to keep them from putting her in. She braced her feet against the edge of the pod and made her legs rigid so they couldn't put her in. They tried to shove her in backwards only to find that they couldn't let go because of the death grip she had on one of their hands. Then they tried putting her in head first only to get a kick in the face as their reward. The tech peeled her fingers off of the face guard of his helmet for the fourth time, only to find not only her tail but both her legs wrapped around his forearm. He shook his arm violently, trying to dislodge the sticky youngster only to feel her small legs wrap even tighter around him. 

He was about to slam the girl against the ground in hopes of stunning her long enough to get her into the pod, when Prince Vegeta suddenly yelled, "STOP!"

The tech froze and looked over his shoulder at the Prince.

"Put her down." The boy said dangerously. "NOW!"

Kinrat unwrapped herself from the tech's hand as he lowered her to the ground, and as soon as her feet touched the floor, she darted over to the Prince's side.

Prince Vegeta looked down at the small girl and then back up at his father who was glaring at him angrily. Vegeta knew that look, it was his fathers 'you have ten seconds to do the right thing or be prepared to be blasted into the Afterlife' look. He frowned, _ Why the hell do I care so much what happens to a second class brat? But there's something about what she said _He thought and looked back down at Kinrat.

"You're Oniisan isn't going to make it." He told her harshly. "You have to go now."

Kinrat looked up at him, her lower lip trembling slightly, and then nodded slowly. She knew he was right, Tomates wasn't going to get there in time, and she had to go. She reached out, took his hand, and pulled him close to her.

"For the scary place." She whispered into his ear and bolted towards her pod.

Vegeta closed his hand around the claw she had pressed into his hand, he watched her settle herself in the pods seat and the hatch began to close.

"Be strong, Vegeta-san!" She called to him, waving. "Keep the fighting spirit with you!"

The pod closed with a soft hiss and through the glass, he saw the young girls eyes drift close as the computer initiated the stasis program. The engines roared to life and hers was the first pod to lift into the sky. Moments later, identical roars sounded across the launching pad as the other pods carrying children streaked into the sky.

Vegeta tracked her pod with his eyes as long as he could. His hand tightened around the puzzling girls gift._ I'll keep the fighting spirit, Kinrat! _ He thought determinedly. _And I'll be strong! _

He could have sworn he heard her giggle in reply.

--

Kinrats pod sped through the inky blackness of space towards its pre-programmed destination, a small, not very technologically advanced planet in the Antilles sector of space where Kinrat was to wait for the full moon and let her Oozaru stage take care of the indigenous population. In two months time, an adult scout from a nearby system would join her and show her how to perform 'mop up' and then return with her back to Vegiitsae. 

Little did the programmers know, a star had gone nova at the time of her launching, destroying all the planets in its system, creating a large asteroid field right in her path.

On the outer most edge of the field, the computer had no problem in avoiding the asteroids but as the field grew denser the system wasn't quick enough to avoid the fast moving rocks. It started by getting nicked by one medium sized asteroid that shoved the small pod off course enough into a rain of baseball sized particles, and then the computer had to try to change course as they came out of that almost right in front of a huge one. The pod dipped and the lower most edge of the asteroid caught the pod and sent it spinning out of control into the asteroid field like some cosmic pinball. As the pod bounced off one asteroid to another, the computers parameters told its system that it was in trouble and that the pods occupant was at risk. It initiated the homing beacon just before a golf ball sized asteroid embedded itself at the exact point where it was housed, silencing the lifeline forever. Then it plotted the shortest course out of the field as the pod skipped across the surface of a large asteroid, destroying one of the engine emitters.

The remaining engine flared, pushing the pod off of the asteroid. The capsule ducked and weaved jerkily through the field, only missing some of the asteroids by bare meters. Just as it reached the edge of the field, it encountered another rain of asteroid particles that managed to crack the already weakened hatch window. The computer adjusted the atmosphere accordingly and sent the pods occupant into a deeper state of stasis to preserve the air.

Once out of the asteroid field, the computer did a systems check and it reasoned that the pods systems would not take it to its preprogrammed destination. So it went through the star charts in its memory and found the closest habitable planet. It set a course to it and the remaining engine emitter flared.

Almost two days later, the space pod streaked through the upper atmosphere of the planet. Its systems were failing rapidly and it barely had enough power left to slow its descent. It ended up skipping and bouncing across several hillsides on various islands before it slowed enough and created a large furrow across the ground. It came to a rumbling halt on the edge of a tall cliff overlooking an enclosed valley, the pod teetered on the edge for a moment before slipping over the side and plummeting down the five thousand meters to the ground below.

It hit with a loud thud, and loud crack as the hatch window shattered, rolled across the grass and came to a rest against a tall tree. The hatch creaked, then it opened slowly with a groaning hiss and stuck a quarter of the way open. Eight small bloodied fingers wrapped themselves around the edge and the door creaked and moaned as the five year-old Saiya-jin girl struggled to release herself from the pod. Suddenly, a loud crack reverberated across the valley when the struts gave way under the strain and the hatch swung down to the ground with crash.

Kinrat came tumbling out of the pod and lay gasping and panting on the ground. Her breathing came out in wheezing gasps. She coughed and then spat out the blood that came to her mouth. Her face was bruised but, miraculously, her scouter was intact. A large gaping gash that started from the middle of her forehead and ran to almost the back of her head oozed blood. She looked like she'd been to Hell and back again.

The girl looked up at the gray/blue sky above her, her right hand crept up to the top of her armor and pulled out the Deesurga claw necklace, and she smiled.

"Ve-ge-ta!" She whispered and then her eyes closed.

--

"ALBERT! Don't do that!" She shrieked as he banked the air bus hard around another hillside. She gripped the arms of her seat as he sent the vehicle into tight circles as he examined the hillside below them.

"There's another one!" He said excitedly. "See, Martha? I told you it came down somewhere around here! Now, if we just follow this course, we should meet up with it soon"

Martha prayed to Kami as her companion jerked the air bus out of its circles and hit the accelerator. "Albert, I still say this is stupid! All this for some stupid hunk of space rock?" She growled sullenly, resettling herself back into her seat._ And I had a date tonight too! _

"Maybe space rock, maybe not!" He chuckled cryptically.

Martha looked at him amused, "Yeah, maybe it's a UFO. Whooooo!" She joked, waggling her fingers at him as she made old UFO B-movies sounds at him.

Albert rolled his eyes and gave an exasperatedly snort, "How I ended up with you as an assistant, I'll never know!"

"Well, lets list the reasons, shall we?" She said conversationally, "One: I'm the only one who's put up with your silly-ass scientist antics. Two: Who else can pack a months worth of equipment and supplies at five minutes notice? Three: Who's saved your butt from falling down every crevice and cliffside you've looked down in the past three years? And most importantly, four! I'm your sister, for Kami's sake!"

"Hey! The trail ends here!" Albert yelped suddenly.

Albert and Martha Trent were as different as identical twins could get. They both shared the same light red hair, emerald green eyes and they were both the same height but that's where the similarities ended. Albert was a scientist, an inventor, and working on becoming one of the youngest multi-billionaires at the age of 24. While Martha, not as smart as her brother was but not dumb either, was more of a jack of all trades and was working on her black belt in Karate.

Martha sighed, _ He didn't hear a word I said! _

"Now, where did you go?" Albert muttered as he punched the buttons to set the bus in hover and then rummaged around in a large bag beside him. "Ah! Here you are!" He pulled out a sleek box like machine, pressed some buttons on the front of it, and pointed it down at where the long score mark ended on the ground. It hummed a beeped for a moment and then let out a series of steady tones. "Eureka!" Albert crowed and grinned over at his sister, his horn-rimmed glasses slipping down his long nose. "the hunt is afoot, dear Watson!"

_ Uh oh, he's got that look in his eyes! _ "Great Holmes, just try not to kill us in the process!" She replied sardonically as he put the box in his lap and disengaged the hover mode.

"Who, me?" He said innocently.

"Yes, yooooouuuuu!!!!" She shrieked as he sent the bus into a steep dive into the valley. "AAALLLLBBBBEEEERRRRTTTTT!!!!! DON'T DO THAT!"

After the first few thousand feet, he pulled the bus out of its dive and then descended down in lazy circles. "Oh, it's good to be alive!" He sang happily.

"Speak for yourself!" Martha muttered but kept her eyes peeled out her side of the window, just in case he actually found something this time.

About three hundred feet from the ground, she caught a glint of metal coming from under one of the trees. "Uh, Albert?!" She whispered, groping at his shoulder. The wind from their engines sent the trees whipping backwards and then the glint turned into a gleam. "Albert!" She grabbed his shoulder and shook it.

"What?!" He looked at her. Her face was pale and she was trembling slightly.

"I think I found your UFO." She croaked as she pointed out the window.

Albert practically stood up in his seat when he saw the same gleam of metal. "I KNEW IT!" He screamed ecstatically. "Yes! Do you know what this means, Martha? Proof! Actual proof that there's extraterrestrial life!"

It was then that Martha caught sight of the small body lying about a meter away from the pod. "Albert, land, now!" She barked, hastily undoing her seatbelt and crawling to the seats behind her.

"Huh? What?" He asked, confused at her sudden behaviour.

She started pawing through the pile of supplies on the seat, "That's no UFO, Albert. It's a car or something! There's a kid lying on the ground down there!" She told him hastily. "Where did I oh, there it is. DAMMIT ALBERT! LAND THIS KAMI DAMNED THING NOW!"

Alberts eyes widened slightly and then he nodded. He'd learned enough in the past three years that when Martha was like that, arguing wasn't a good idea. He quickly landed beside a small impact crater and cut out the engines. Martha was out of the bus in a flash and sprinted across the ground with the first aide kit she'd uncovered in the back of the bus.

Even at a distance Martha could both see and smell the blood that that covered the child. _Please be alright, kid!_ She thought desperately as she came to a sliding halt beside the child. She flipped the tabs of the first-aide kit and started pulling out various medical capsules.

"Kami, kid! You're a mess!" She muttered and then silently thanked Kami for her EMT training as she uncapsulated the medical supplies.

"Is the kid going to be okay?" Albert asked shakily behind her.

"I don't know," Martha growled. "But if you don't want to lost you lunch, brother mine, don't come any closer."

"I won't," Albert replied as her inched his was around her. "I'm just gonna, Holy! Wouldja lookit this thing?"

_Give the man a toy to figure out, and he's happy._ She chuckled wanly as she started to wipe the child's face off. "Damn that cuts deep! It's going to have to be stitched up." She muttered as she pressed a wad of bandages across the gash and swaddled the childs head in gauze. She ran her hands appraisingly down the childs small arms, checking for any breaks.

"What's this?" Martha said softly in surprise as she picked a short piece of leather thong out of the right hand. "Wow! Wouldn't want to meet whatever owned this!" She exclaimed when she saw the large claw attached to it. She looked at the child, "What's a little kid like you doing with a big claw like this?" She chuckled, placing it into the first-aide box for safe keeping.

"Martha! You've gotta see this thing!" Albert called to her.

"Yeah, as soon as I make sure the kids going to live!" She snapped, "Just as soon as I figure out how to get you out of this funky outfit of yours kid!" She muttered exasperatedly, running her hands along the hard material. Her fingers brushed across the fuzzy brown belt and found it surprisingly soft and warm.

She followed it around to the back, hoping to solve the puzzle that way, and her eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline at what she found.

"What the?!" She exclaimed, jerking her hands back. "What what are you kid?"

Martha looked over at the small white-metal pod that her brother was practically crawling all over and a nerve on her forehead started to jump as a horrible realization dawned on her.

"Albert, I think you should come see this!" She called over her shoulder as she cautiously unwound the tail from the childs waist.

Albert just mumbled in reply and she heard a soft clanking noise.

"No, Albert, I REALLY think you should come see this!" A note of near panic in her voice.

"What?" Albert asked, extremely interested now. He came over and looked over her shoulder, "Hey, the kids got a tail!"

Martha nodded, "Is that pod-thingie what I hope its not?" She asked him shakily.

"A space ship?" He put his hand under his chin and thought for a moment, "Judging from her clothes, the tail, and the mess load of high-tech equipment in it I'd say that's a high possibility."

"Damn!" Martha swore, "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"

"What?" Albert asked, startled.

"The kids an alien, Albert!" She explained, "Hurt pretty badly too, I was hoping we could take the kid to a hospital but we can't now."

Albert blinked confusedly, "Why not?"

Martha sighed, "Geez, Albert! You watched the same shows as I did! What do you think is going to happen when we explain where we found her and where she's from?"

"Uh" Albert blinked furiously and then he went very pale, "Uh oh"

"Exactly! They'd have her locked up in some Kami-forsaken government facility before you could say 'Bob's your uncle'!" She sighed, "And I'm not about to let that happen to the kid, even an alien one."

"So," Albert prompted, already knowing that his sister had a plan.

"So, this is what we're going to do, " She grinned, "We're going to take both her and the ship back to the lab. I'm going to call Karen along the way and ask her to meet us there. She's as much of a science fiction nut as you are, and being a med-student she'll be able to help me keep the kid alive."

"By Jove, I think she's got it!" Albert crowed in jubilation and started dancing around in circles.

"Stop that and help me, stupid!"

* * *


	2. Kinrat The Lost Scout: Part Two

DISCLAIMER: All characters from Dragonball Z belong to TOEI, FUNImation, Cartoon Network, and YTV. They're not mine, I'm just borrowing them. All other characters are figments of my imagination and kinda, sorta, belong to me. If you'd like to use them, let me know and we'll work something out.

Kinrat - The Lost Scout  
Part Two

* * *

15 BF

Kinrat woke gradually and was surprised to find herself lying in a bed rather than in the Afterlife. Then she smiled slightly, _Tamotes or Otousan must have come and rescued me. _She thought, relieved, as she opened her eyes and looked around. Then she let out a small scream of fear.

There, sitting beside the bed, was an alien female with bright red hair. _Oh no! I must have been captured by the natives!_ She thought, panicked. She tried to sit up but pain lanced through both her head and chest, tears sprang to her eyes. The alien female murmured something and tried to push her back down onto the bed. Kinrat swatted her hands away with a snarl.

"Don't touch me, alien!" Kinrat growled as menacingly as she could. 

Kinrat gritted her teeth against the pain and carefully sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and gingerly got to her feet.

_A warrior never lets the enemy see that they are in pain nor shows any other weakness, that is the way of the Saiya-jin._ The memory of her father said inside her mind.

"Where are my clothes and armor, alien?" She demanded when she discovered she was practically naked.

The alien woman was staring at her surprise and said something in a harsh language while shaking her head.

"Don't you understand Standard, baka?" Kinrat asked, although she already knew the answer. She looked around the strange room she was in and spotted her armor and clothes in a pile on top of a dresser.

She took a step towards it and hissed softly as pain lanced through her chest. The alien woman was on her feet in a flash and got between her and it. The alien said something and tried to get her back into the bed. Kinrat gave the woman the deadliest gaze she could muster, the woman stopped talking and blinked in surprise.

"Better, alien." Kinrat said haughtily as she stepped warily around the woman and made her way slowly to her clothes.

_Although aliens are not like us, but they understand power. Show them that you are stronger than them and they will show you instant respect._

"Thank you Otousan!" She muttered under her breath. The pain wasn't that bad, she'd hurt worse after a training session with her father and brother. She grimaced when she saw her reflection in a full length looking glass, she stopped and stared at herself. There were fading bruises on her face and lower torso, and the mass of bandages around her head and upper chest. Kinrat frowned and started to slowly unwrap the bandages from her head. The alien woman came over beside her and said something to her with an inquiring note. Kinrat looked at the woman and saw that she was hesitantly reaching towards the bandages. Kinrat nodded and allowed the alien to finish the unwrapping. The woman gasped in surprise as she unwrapped the last layer and Kinrats hair started bursting out of the seams. 

Kinrat couldn't help but grin, _Obviously they don't know anything about Saiya-jin!_ But inside she was worried, her father had told her that in stasis a Saiya-jin didn't age, didn't change, so she must have been out for a long time if her hair had grown back. Maybe over two weeks! 

She ran her fingers through the long, below shoulder length, dark locks, trying to work out the tangles with her fingers while investigating the cut on her scalp. After a moment, she gave up with a sigh and ran her fingers along the front and sides of her chest while concentrating very hard on that area of her body.

_Four ribs busted, looks like I punctured my lung slightly and a couple other organs got a little beat up in the crash._ She thought as she used the genetic knack of her family to mentally assess her injuries. _Looks like the aliens fixed them somehow_

The alien woman started saying something, breaking Kinrats concentration. Kinrat shot her an angry glare and turned away from the glass back to her clothes. She walked slowly across the couple of feet to the dresser and reached for her undertunic.

Karen watched the little alien girl slowly pull on the black spandex bodysuit and winced in sympathy as the girl hissed softly as she pulled it up over her chest and slid her arms into the sleeves._ Kami, I'm amazed that she's even standing! Anyone else would still be in bed._ She thought amazed. _What are you?_

It had taken several hours of surgery to repair the damage and then several more days of trying to keep the girl alive before she was out of the woods. Then they'd watched amazed as her body started to heal itself at an incredible rate, she'd even regenerated the kidney that they had to remove because it was so damaged!

A soft whimper of pain snapped Karen out of her reverie and she saw tears streaking down the girls face as she struggled to put on the rigid bodysuit. Karen came over to her to help but the girl just swatted her hands away again. 

"Watashi yaru yo!" The girl snapped, hastily brushing the tears from her cheeks.

"Okay, okay!" Karen replied, exasperatedly. "I won't help then!"

"Kuso!" The girl muttered as she continued to struggle with the bodysuit.

Her language sounds kinda like Japanese. Karen mused, watching the girl. Wow, she's gotta be really strong to get that thing to stretch like that!

It had taken the combined efforts of Karen, Martha, and Albert to get the rigid bodysuit off of the girl. That is, once Albert figured out how to do it. Now Karen watched as the girl stretched the neck of it and slipped her lithe body into it. When she was done, Karen saw her sag slightly against the dresser and could hear the girls breath coming out in short gasps. Karen took a step towards her but stopped herself when the girl shot her another one of those nasty looks over her shoulder when she heard the step. Karen watched amazed as the girls tail came up and wrapped itself around her waist like some furry belt._ It must be really cool to have a tail_. She thought enviously.

"Doko da wastashi no bu-tsu ka?" The girl asked after a moment.

Karen just spread her hands and shook her head, "I don't understand you."

The girl frowned, "Anata ni wa wakara nai no yo." She sighed, she turned slowly and leaned slightly against the dresser, "Bu-tsu!" She said slowly, lifting one small foot and gesturing to it, "Wakaru ka? Bu-tsu!"

Karen blinked for a moment, trying to figure out what the girl was asking and then her brain clicked. "Oh! Your boots! You're asking where your boots are, right?"

"Bu-tsu!" The girl said vehemently, again gesturing to her feet. "Wakaru ka, iseijin?"

Karen nodded, "Yes, okay! I'll get your boots, just wait here." She tried to use hand gestures to get her point across, "Just wait, okay?"

The girl looked at her strangely and then nodded, "Yoshi, wakatta! Wakatta!" She said, "Ike! Ike!" She pointed to the door imperiously.

Karen raised an eyebrow and then grinned, "I take the hint. I'll be right back!" She chuckled as she opened the door.

"Baka iteki!" She heard the girl growl softly as she left.

"That probably wasn't anything good," Karen chuckled, shaking her head, as she pulled the door closed. "But the kids got spunk. Hey Martha! Albert! Our little alien is awake!" Karen called as she went down the hallway.

Her older brother and sister practically tackled her as she entered the livingroom. "She's awake?" Albert asked excitedly.

Karen nodded, "Yeah, and I don't think she's in a good mood. Kami, that kids strong! She's already on her feet and dressed! She sent me out for her boots." Karen told them as she crossed the room to the Utility Room.

"What do you mean she's up and dressed already?" Martha asked surprised.

"Does she know our language?" Albert asked at the same time.

"I've never seen anything like it in my life, her injuries would have kept any ordinary human adult bedridden for over a month and there she is" Karen called out to them as she picked up the girls boots, "It's amazing! You should have seen her, she's still in some pain but she was determined to get dressed, no matter what I said to her."

"So, she does speak our language?" Albert asked hopefully.

Karen shook her head, "No, but she's very good at making herself understood." She went back out into the livingroom, "Albert? I think it may just be me, but her language sounds a helluva lot like Japanese."

Both of them looked at her in surprise. "Japanese?" They echoed.

Karen nodded, "Yeah" She started to say.

"Oi! Iseijin! Doko da watashi no bu-tsu yo!" the girl called out loudly and impatiently.

"See?!" Karen waved the pair of boots exasperatedly towards the hallway. "Doesn't that sound like Japanese?"

Albert nodded, "Yeah, it does" He murmured, "That's weird."

"Yeah it is," Karen sighed, "I only recognized it because Clark is nuts about Anime."

"ISEIJIN!!" The girl bellowed, "Iseijin, doko da?!"

They heard the door of the room being thrown open and the soft pad of feet coming slowly down the hallway.

"Kid doesn't have much patience, does she?" Martha chuckled softly.

Karen shook her head, "You don't know the half of it."

"Iseijin!" The girl called coming around the corner and then she pulled up short when she saw Martha and Albert standing beside her, "Kore wa nani yo?" She muttered, "Iteki na?" 

"It's okay," Karen said coming over to her. "I have your boots. Here!" She handed them to the girl.

The girl eyed them warily for a moment and then snatched them out of Karen's hands with a snarl. "Baka iseijin!"

"Baka?" Albert echoed softly and then his face lit up, "Hey! I know that word! Baka means stupid or fool or idiot or something I think the kid just insulted us!"

Martha frowned, "Well, she's going to have to learn some manners since she's on our planet." She said angrily, she did not like being insulted by a five year old! "Listen here, little miss" She said walking over to the child and grabbing her arm. "You're on our planet, understand? And you'll keep a civil tongue in your head, got it?"

The girl just looked up at her annoyed, "Ore no nameru na, iseijin!" she growled in reply, "Baka!"

Albert noticed that the palm of the girls hand was starting to glow. _Uh oh!_ "Wait, Martha! Let the kid go!" He called to her, never taking his eyes off the glowing hand. "Uh, NOW would be good, sis!"

Kinrat was more than ready to blast this other female alien into the Afterlife because Kinrat was becoming very angry! First she had crashed on this planet. Then she woke up in the hands of the enemy and was hurt. Then she'd found out that none of them spoke Standard. Then that other female alien had kept her waiting, and, to top it all off, this one thought she could lay her hands on a Saiya-jin!! 

She stared up at the woman with cold dark eyes, "Let go of my arm, alien!" She snarled.

The male started making begging noises to the female who was holding her arm. The female frowned and then blinked in surprise when she finally noticed the energy that was gathering in Kinrats hand. She yelped and let go of Kinrat's arm. A small pleased smile came to Kinrats face.

"Maybe you're not that stupid after all, alien." Kinrat sneered. Then she spotted her scouter sitting on a table behind the male alien.

Or, at least what was left of her scouter. It looked like someone had taken it apart with a sledge hammer and scattered the piece across the tabletop with glee. Kinrat swore loudly and ran over to it, grimacing when that caused another hot shooting pain in her chest. She ran her fingers across the pieces and she saw that it hadn't been broken but _dismantled!_ Kinrat shot the aliens a nasty look, _Guess they thought they could stop me by taking apart my scouter._ _Well, they're not dealing with any normal Saiya-jin!_ She closed her eyes briefly and a memory flashed across her mind.

_You never know when your scouter will be damaged and there won't be a tech around, so I want you to take this one apart, piece by piece, and then put it back together in working order._ The memory of her mother instructed. They had spent a good two days working on that scouter. Her mother had been pleased when Kinrat had quickly caught on and mastered it.

Kinrat started putting her scouter back together while the aliens watched in silence. After about five minutes, the male came over and started asking her questions. Apparently he wanted to know how it worked. Kinrat just ignored his babbling and kept to her task. 

_What an ugly language they have. _Kinrat thought as she worked. _So harsh on the ears and it starts and stops in the oddest places. But keep talking alien, I will understand soon._

After ten minutes, Kinrat snapped on the last cover plate with a satisfied smirk and settled it back onto her face. She pressed the side of it a couple of times and turned to the aliens. With the male it only showed a power level of ten._ Weakling! _Kinrat thought nastily. The female who had been there when she'd woken up was a little higher at 14, Kinrat snorted disgustedly. But the female who had grabbed her was showing a power reading of 125. Kinrat's right eyebrow raised slightly. _Not even close to mine but she may have put up a good fight For about ten seconds!_ She thought smugly.

The male said something and pointed to himself. Then he said something different and pointed to the woman beside him, and then did the same thing with the other woman. Kinrat frowned, what was he trying to say to her? He did it again and Kinrat realized he was trying to tell her their names.

"Al-bert," She echoed him.

He grinned and nodded and pointed to the woman beside him.

"Kar-ren?" She asked, Kami! What stupid names! They mean nothing! "Mar-tha?"

The man nodded vigorously and said something inquiringly to her. Huh? Oh! He wants to know my name? Yeah, right! Kinrat folded her arms across her chest and tried very hard to do a good imitation of Prince Vegeta. Will I ever see you again, Vegeta?

"Where is my ship?" She asked them imperiously.

Albert, Karen and Martha all looked confused and shook their heads. Kinrat sighed exasperatedly.

"Baka aliens! I want to know where my ship is!" She started pantomiming something flying through space and it crashing, "You know, ship? Flies through space?! Fell out of sky and hit ground?!?"

Martha blinked, "What is she doing? Telling us her life story or something?" she asked confusedly as she watched the little girl.

Albert shook his head, "I don't think so. I think she wants to know where her ship is."

"You sure?" Karen asked, "I think Martha's right"

"BAKA ALIENS!" Kinrat shrieked, "WHERE THE HELL IS MY SHIP?!"

"On second though, I think you're right Albert." Karen chuckled.

"If I hear one more 'baka' out of that kids mouth!" Martha muttered angrily. "And I'd really like to know what an 'iteki' is!"

"Easy sis." Albert soothed as he knelt down so he was eye level with the little alien, "You want ship, right?" He said slowly to her, making with his right hand like something was flying through the air, "Ship?"

Kinrat calmed down enough to see that the male was at least trying to communicate. "Hai! Ship! My ship! Where is my ship?"

"Doko da where is?" Albert murmured as he smiled and nodded encouragingly to the girl. "Doko da ship?"

"HAI!" The girl roared, she was really working herself up, "Baka iseijin! Doko da watashi no ship!!"

"Easy, kid, okay.. okay!" Albert tried to calm her down. "This way, it's right through here." He stood and motioned her to follow him.

"It's about time!" Kinrat muttered angrily as she followed the man.

Albert led her to the part of the lab where they had put her ship. 

"Kuso!" Kinrat swore when she saw her ship. She walked up to it and frowned, "Guess I was lucky to make it alive." She said softly, "But how am I gonna get home?"

"I know it's a mess," Albert told the girl, not caring if she could understand him or not, "But maybe we can repair it?"

Kinrat looked back at the man, "Re-pair?" She echoed, "Nan da?"

Albert nodded, "Repair, fix it so it can fly." He told her making space ship motions with his hands again.

"Hai," Kinrat nodded, "Re-pair ship?" She pointed at him, "Albert repair ship!" She ordered.

Albert looked thoughtful, "Maybe, but it will take some time. I'm not sure if any of our technology is compatible with yours."

"Albert repair ship." Kinrat said with finality.

Albert chuckled, "Okay, okay! I'll see what I can do."

"Albert are you nuts? I know you're brilliant but" Martha said from where she stood beside Karen at the door.

Albert looked over to her, "Aw, come on sis! How hard could it be?" He said jokingly.

Kinrat ignored the rest of what the aliens were saying and crawled onto the padded seat inside of the wrecked ship. "Now, lets see if you still have some power." She muttered, pressing some buttons on the inside of the hatch. They flickered slightly and then came on. She grinned, "Alright!" She crowed, "Now where did mother say that was?" She ran her fingers along the right inside edge of the pod until she found the little hidden compartment, "Ah ha! Found you!" She pulled out a sealed package of data disks and a long thin piece of wire. "Arigato gozaimasu, Okaasan!" She grinned.

She pulled one end of the wire into the side of her scouter and the other end into another plug under a panel in the control panels. Her small fingers flew across the large buttons on the hatch and figures and glyphs danced across the eyepiece of her scouter. Slowly, her eyes began to widen in shock.

"No!" She gasped, "No way!"

Her fingers punched furiously across the keys again.

"Amazing!" Albert murmured as he watched the girl.

"What?" Both sisters asked curiously.

"Well, just look at her," Albert pointed slightly at the softly muttering child, "You said she's about five years old, right?"

Karen nodded, "Yeah, so?"

"Look how she handles the controls there and to be sent out into space at such a young age, she must be a child genius or something!" He said admiringly. "A human child that age could never understand everything that's being displayed on that eyepiece of hers, its moving too fast, but she's having no problem keeping up with it."

"SHIMATTA!" The girl suddenly bellowed, "Watashi wa nani yo!"

"Uh oh! I think she's just got some bad news!" Martha said softly.

"How can this be?" Kinrat ranted, ripping the wire out of its plug in her scouter. "What the hell am I gonna do stranded on some backwater planet with a bunch of baka aliens?!" She started to furiously press the button on her scouter, hoping to get some kind of signal but all she got was static. "This isn't fair!!" She wailed, "My first mission, messed up!! Tamotes! Otousan, Okaasan, Oniisan!!!"

"Hey, it's okay," Albert murmured as he quickly came over to the upset child, "We'll get you back up into space in no time." He reached out and touched her gently on the arm.

"Don't touch me!" Kinrat shrieked, shrinking away from him to the back of the pod. Her hands glowed, "Touch me and die, alien!"

Albert jerked back away from her, it was quite clear that she didn't want him so near her. "Okay, I'm moving back, see?" He told her soothingly as he took several steps back.

Kinrat looked from Albert to Karen and Martha who were staring at her shocked, "Baka aliens! I hate you!" She snarled, needing someone to blame for her predicament. "I HATE YOU!!" She shrieked, she floated out of the pod and hovered about ten feet above the floor. The air around her crackled with blue-white energy, "I WANT TO GO HOME!!"

"Albert! Karen! GET DOWN!" Martha yelled, grabbing her sister by the arm and dragging her towards the door. "The kids gone nova!"

Kinrat wanted to incinerate them, boy did she want to! But instead, she raised her hands above her head and, with a primal scream, blasted through the ceiling. "ALBERT REPAIR SHIP!" She yelled in English just before her aura blazed and she took off up through the hole she created.

Albert blinked, shocked to his core that such a small child had such power inside of her. "Okay."

--

Kinrat flew.

Flying was one of the things she enjoyed the most but now she just wanted to get away, run away, somewhere that wasn't so, alien, to her. Tears ran down her face and ragged sobs choked out from deep inside of her. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt. But she didn't care, she just wanted to fly!

She flew over grassland. She flew over hills. She flew over valley's. She flew over cities, towns, and hamlets. And she hated them all. She hated the jewel blue waters of the ocean she flew over and wished that it was the obsidian black waters of the Great Ocean. She hated the bright blue sky with the fluffy white clouds above her and longed for the dusky orange-red sky of Vegiitsae. She flew until the planets pathetic yellow sun sank below the horizon, hiding most of the alien landscape from sight.

She flew in darkness until her scouter bleeped softly above a small island with a house on it. She stopped and pressed the button, fervently hoping that someone inside would provide enough distraction from the despair she was feeling. Then she snarled in disappointment when it displayed several low power readings.

"S'not fair!" She growled, "Baka aliens!"

She turned and flew away.

Had Kinrat stayed for a few seconds longer, she would have seen the front door to the house being thrown open and several figures come running out of it.

"What what do you think it was?" Krillin asked shakily.

"I.. I don't know," Goku replied, still searching the sky "Whatever it was, it was really powerful! Never felt anything like that before"

Kinrat flew until she saw a broken and rocky landscape below her. In the gloom, it almost looked like the place where her parents had taken her to train a few times. She let out a sob and dropped to the ground. She fell to her knees and clutched at the ground beneath her hands.

"Tomates!" She cried, "Okaasan! Otousan! I want to come home!"

Her grip tightened around the cool soil and suddenly she let out a loud shriek and threw her hands up into the air. The ground trembled, several rocky outcroppings crumbled as bolts of uncontrolled energy shot out from her fingertips and struck the ground around her. Her wails and cries never ceased as she bolted to her feet and started attacking anything that got in her sights. Outcroppings crumbled as she smashed her way through them. Great craters were left when huge balls of energy streaked out of her hands and hit the ground with intense explosions. Lights and colors arched through the air from Kinrats full blown Saiya-jin temper tantrum.

Outside of the maelstrom of energy, an entity watched her vent her grief. A single tear coursed its way down his green cheek. "I understand." He said softly.

Then there was a single shriek of anguish and an intense flash of light that lit up the horizon. He shaded his eyes until the light, and wind that followed it, died down to nothing but silence and darkness. He suddenly feared that the child had destroyed herself and took off into the epicenter of her rage.

He found her lying in the middle of a large crater curled up in a ball and still very much alive. Tears still streaked down her face and her sobs nothing but the occasional whimper, her armor was scuffed and dirty, her body scraped, bruised, and bloody in places and her loneliness and despair hung in the air around her like a heavy fog. He looked down at her for a few moments before making a decision.

He bent down and gingerly picked her up. Her eyes never opened but her tightly curled body relaxed a bit and her tail wrapped around his wrist.

"Vegeta-san" He heard her whimper before she passed out.

Kami smiled slightly down at the young alien cradled in his arm and brushed her bangs back from her face as he lifted himself off of the ground and flew off to the west. A golden halo surrounded them and they disappeared.

--

Karen paced across the livingroom while Martha sat by the front window with her arms sullenly crossed across her chest.

"I don't know why we should be so worried about the kid!" Martha snapped when the tension in the room got thick, "She could have made crispy critters out of us! I say good riddance!"

Despite her grumbling, Martha kept her eyes glued to the window, searching for some sign that the alien girl had returned.

"Yeah, she could have, but she didn't!" Karen argued, "She was just scared, that's all. Think of how you'd feel if you crashed in a strange place and were surrounded by strange people. I know that I'd be terrified!"

Karen glanced up at the grandfather clock in the corner and sighed, "She's been gone for over ten hours! What if she hurt herself again? She wasn't completely recovered when she left"

A bright flash of light blossomed outside of the house and then died. Martha started in her seat and stared incredulously out the window. "Uh, I don't think we have to worry about that!" She gulped.

"What? What do you mean? Is she back?" Karen ran over to the window and then went pale. "Oh my"

Martha clamped her hand over her sisters mouth, "Don't say it!" She hissed. "Just don't say it!"

Seconds later, the women came tumbling out of the front door and stared. Kami chuckled and revealed the sleeping child in his arm to them.

"I believe you lost this?" He asked them in English.

Both of them nodded, still stunned. Kami walked over to Karen and gently placed the child in her arms. "She's alright," He told Karen when she gave a small distressed sound when she saw the blood on Kinrat. "Just a little worn out, that's all." He reached into his robe and pulled out a small green seed and handed it to Karen, "This is a senzu seed, give it to her when she wakes up and she'll be healed completely."

"Thank you." Karen whispered gratefully.

Kami was just turning to leave when Martha spoke up, "Wait! Please!"

Kami turned to look at her, "Yes?"

"Why did you bring her back?" Martha asked him, "I mean, wouldn't she be safer with you?"

Kami smiled, "The child belongs here with you where she can learn and grow beyond what she is." He told her, turning back to leave, and then he paused, "Just make sure she's aware of the phase of the moon."

There was a golden flash and he was gone.

Karen and Martha looked at each other confused.

"What did he mean by that?" Martha wondered.

"I don't know" Karen murmured looking down at the girl.

The child stirred slightly and her eyes fluttered open. She sighed when she registered who was holding her.

Karen smiled, "Hey kid, welcome back!"

"Kar-ren," She said weakly.

"Yeah, that's me! And Martha's here too!" 

The girl turned her head and saw Martha standing beside them, "Mar-tha?"

Martha nodded and smiled wanly, "Yeah, I'm here."

The girl sighed again and shook her head, "Kinrat." She said.

"What?" Martha frowned slightly, "Is that another insult, kid?"

"Sounded like carrot." Karen joked.

The girl shook her head and pointed a finger at Karen, "Kar-ren," Then she looked over at Martha, "Mar-tha," Then she pointed to herself, "Kinrat."

Martha's eyebrows raised, "Is that your name? Kinrat?" She asked.

Kinrat blinked for a moment and then nodded, "Kinrat." She told them.

Karen grinned, "Nice to meet you Kinrat! Welcome to Earth."

Kinrat just chuckled softly and shook her head, "Baka iteki" She whispered and slipped back into sleep.

Karen stifled a laugh at the look on her sisters face, "I really wish I knew what an 'iteki' was!" Martha growled.

* * *


	3. Kinrat The Lost Scout: Part Three

DISCLAIMER: All characters from Dragonball Z belong to TOEI, FUNImation, Cartoon Network, and YTV. They're not mine, I'm just borrowing them. All other characters are figments of my imagination and kinda, sorta, belong to me. If you'd like to use them, let me know and we'll work something out.

Kinrat - The Lost Scout  
Part Three

* * *

15 BF

Alarms started going off around the compound as a muted roar rumbled from within. Several squads of troops ran down the corridor towards the disturbance. As they turned the last corner, they were almost knocked off their feet as another explosion rumbled under foot. They all blinked in surprise at the tall Saiya-jin, with short spiky black hair, leaning nonchalantly up against the wall with one foot propped up against it and his arms crossed across his chest. His eyes were closed and appeared to be totally oblivious of the commotion.

"Take a break, guys." He told them without looking at them. "No attack here."

There was a scream from inside of the room that the Saiya-jin was standing guard at and a loud crash. A series of loud pops reverberated out of the room.

"Well, at least his aim is getting better!" The Saiya-jin muttered. He opened one eye and gave the staring squad a deadly glare. "I suggest you leave, unless you want to chance it?"

"What's What's going on?" A short purple alien asked incredulously as there was the sound of a high wind from inside the room.

"Just got some bad news." The Saiya-jin told him with a smirk. "He'll wind down soon. Well, it should be soon, but you can never tell with him."

The alien gulped, and he thought Frieza was bad when he good bad news! He looked at his companions and they all nodded. As one, they turned and jogged quickly back the way they came. The Saiya-jin chuckled and shook his head, closing his eyes again.

Aliens! He thought.

His scouter chirruped and he pressed the side of it. "Yeah?"

"It's me." A man's voice almost identical to his own said.

"Any news, Otousan?" He asked.

He heard him sigh, "No, we're still waiting for permission to start searching." Leekin told him.

Tamotes' fists tightened against him, "What's the problem?"

Leekin's reply was drowned out by a rumble from inside the room. "I take it he didn't take the news well?" Leekin asked when it died.

There was another scream and a crash, "No, he didn't." Tamotes said with a sigh, "If he doesn't quit soon, he's going to bring the whole complex down around us."

"Did you tell him?"

"Tried to, yeah. But you know how he is, he has a hard time believing it's possible." Tamotes felt the wall behind him buckle slightly and grow warm. There was a loud explosion that caused the floor to shake. Then there was silence.

"I think he's done." Tamotes told his father with a weak chuckle.

"Good," Leekin sighed, "I'll let you know if anything happens. Look to the stars, son. You were closest to her, I'm sure you'll pick something up."

"I know I will." Tamotes affirmed just before he pressed the button and shut down the communication. He pushed himself off of the wall and stood in front of the metal door. He pressed the door release and it opened jerkily. "Vegeta-san?"

It had been almost over two months since they'd met. Tamotes had gotten to the launching pad minutes after his sister had been sent into space and was shocked to find both the King and Prince there. Once he'd managed to explain who he was and what he was doing there, Vegeta had told his father that he wanted Tamotes to accompany him to Lord Frieza's training facility. King Vegeta had been shocked and argued against it but somehow, the Prince had gotten his way. Since then, Tamotes had accompanied him almost everywhere.

"Vegeta-san?" Tamotes called tentatively into the room.

The lights were flickering on and off but Tamotes could see that the Princes quarters were a total loss. Bits and pieces of wooden furniture were scattered around the room and the metal tables were nothing but melted slag. The inside walls were scorched and some were warped from the intense heat of the explosions.

"Vegeta-san?" He called softly when he spotted the Prince huddled in a corner. "It's me Tamotes, can I come back in now?"

The young Princes shoulders trembled slightly and his right hand was gripped into a fist, blood dripped, and he uttered not a sound.

Tamotes picked his way carefully over to him and knelt down in front of him. "Vegeta-san?" He reached out slowly to touch his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Vegeta hissed softly, "Are you sure she's alive?"

Tamotes jerked his hand back, "Yes," He nodded, "She's alive, I can feel it."

Vegeta looked up at him, his eyes had a wild look to them, and he gave a lopsided grin. "You want to know what's pathetic?" He chuckled hoarsely, "I don't even know why I'm upset!"

Tamotes sighed inwardly, _I know why_ "It's alright, Vegeta-san, " He tried to reassure him. "Kinrat's strong, and she'll survive." 

_We'll find you imouto! We'll find you and bring you home!_

--

"Kindra!!" Martha called out, looking around, "Kindra! Where are you?"

She looked around the shed and sighed, "Where is that girl? She's not in the gym, not back here studying those data disks on her scouter where could she be?" She turned and looked around, "Kindra! Answer me! You know you have to be inside by dark tonight!"

"I know, iseijin!" Came from the rooftop above her. "Name not Kindra, is Kinrat!"

Martha looked up and saw the little alien girl perched on top of the lab roof, "And my name is not 'alien'! It's Martha!" Martha snapped back, "And speak proper, Kindra, we all know you can speak English fluently now."

Kinrat sniffed disdainfully and went back to watching the sunset. Behind her, the full moon was beginning to rise. "Not matter how I speak, English a bakabakashii language! Fitting for iteki, not Saiya-jin." Kinrat stated.

"I don't care, Kindra. You have to come in, now!" Martha was beginning to get nervous.

Kinrat looked down at Martha and smirked, "Why? Afraid iseijin are you of Kinrat's Oozaru? Afraid Kinrat Oozaru step on iseijin Martha?" She teased.

Martha counted to ten softly before replying, "No, it's not that!" Martha tried to reason with her, "If you transform and go raging through downtown Minneapolis, then the military will be called and once you turn back to normal they'll capture you."

"Ha!" Kinrat laughed as she started to slide off the roof, "Pitiful iseijin military no match for Kinrat Oozaru nor for Saiya-jin Kinrat!"

Martha sighed, "Didn't we have this argument last full moon, kid?"

"Hai, we did." Kinrat replied, dropping to the ground beside her.

"Then why are we having it now?" She asked her exasperatedly.

Kinrat grinned, "Two months Galactic has passed!" She giggled happily, "Saiya-jin know Kinrat missing! Oniisan, Otousan, and Okaasan know Kinrat missing! Come find Kinrat, now."

Martha looked down at her surprised, she'd never heard Kinrat this happy before. "You sure about that, kid?"

Kinrat nodded vigorously, "Hai! Oniisan, maybe Vegeta-san, will find Kinrat and take back to Vegiitsae!" Then she frowned, "May be mad that Kinrat not clear out planet, even though wrong one. Kinrat think should turn Oozaru."

Martha felt her stomach flip nervously in her stomach. "How about you wait until you know they're coming, huh?" She tried to convince the girl, "You don't want to do all that work and then be stuck here all alone, do you?"

Kinrat's frown deepened and then she nodded slowly, "Hai, baka iseijin right. Kinrat wait until know for sure Oniisan coming. Then Oniisan tell Kinrat for sure what to do."

Martha sighed in relief, "Good, now let's get inside the lab before it gets any more dark, huh?" She steered the girl to the entrance to the lab, "Why didn't you change into those clothes I bought you?" She asked, a little hurt that she hadn't.

Kinrat chuckled softly, "Not like iseijin clothing. Saiya-jin ar-mor better fitting for Kinrat."

Martha pulled the door to the lab open and they walked through, "You can't wear that armor all the time, Kindra." She said.

Kinrat glared at her as she went into the building, "Name is Kinrat!" She snapped.

"Until your 'Oniisan' comes to get you, then you'd better get used to it." Martha said seriously as she followed. "Kinrat doesn't fit in well on this planet, English or Japanese. So it'll have to be Kindra."

"Naze na?" Kinrat asked. "Kinrat good name! Kinrat name of great Saiya-jin warrior, mean's 'fire heart' in Saiya-jin! Kindra mean nothing."

Martha flipped the vertical shades closed, _Just in case!_ "Well, you're not among Saiya-jin, right now Kindra. You're on Earth and you have to act like you're from Earth." 

Kinrat threw herself onto the couch, "Kinrat not from Earth, Kinrat Saiya-jin." And then she sighed heavily. "Kinrat may be throwback but still Saiya-jin!"

Martha looked at her strangely, _This is new_ "What do you mean by that?" She asked curiously, sitting down opposite her.

Kinrat looked up at her startled, "Nani?"

"About being a throwback, what did you mean?"

Kinrat looked away for a moment and then shook her head, "Saiya-jin warriors, Saiya-jin live to fight, live to grow stronger." She said hesitantly, "But Saiya-jin not always like that. Before war with Tsufuru-jin, before Saiya-jin came out of wild and walked upright, Saiya-jin lived. Saiya-jin had families, not classes. Saiya-jin had feelings. Saiya-jin were e-vol-ving." She sounded out the word she didn't use very often. "Evolving into what? Otousan says never know because Tsufuru-jin came and started to hunt Saiya-jin but Kinrat, Otousan, Oniisan, and all family in past carrying gene of evolving. Not lost in war, not lost when Saiya-jin went into space, not lost but changed."

"Changed?" Martha asked softly, not wanting to startle the girl out of her talkativeness. It wasn't very often she opened up like this.

Kinrat shook her head, "Not know, really. Only know that some Saiya-jin like Kinrat's family not only stronger than most in class, but also smarter. Some have abilities that no other Saiya-jin have. Some not let classes stop family from being family, like Kinrat's family. Some still love, some still bond with other Saiya-jin, some still care." She traced circles on the couch cushion and blushed slightly, "Some Saiya-jin are throwback like Kinrat but don't realize yet."

Martha chuckled, "Like that Vegeta you've mentioned?" She guessed.

Kinrat's blush deepened, "Only met once, and only few minutes, but Kinrat saw. Kinrat saw in Vegeta-san something more than Saiya-jin. Vegeta-san be great warrior and Saiya-jin King if survive training." She said softly, dropping her eyes lower.

Martha suppressed a grin, _Either it's hero worship or the kid's got a crush on him!_ "So what you're saying is that some Saiya-jin, like you and your family, are still evolving?" She asked.

"Hai!" Kinrat nodded, "But most Saiya-jin not evolving and say Kinrat, Otousan, and Oniisan throwback to dead age." She sighed, "Otousan say we be careful around other Saiya-jin, prove we good warriors like them, that way not get" She struggled for the word for a moment and pressed the side of her scouter, glyphs flashed for a moment and then it blinked. "Hai, yes, not get cul-led."

Martha frowned, "Culled? You mean killed? They'd kill you?"

"Hai," Kinrat replied sadly, "If too different from other Saiya-jin."

"That's that's monstrous!" Martha exclaimed horrified.

Kinrat shrugged, "That Saiya-jin way." She said grimly.

Martha was in shock, the fact that a race would kill another one of their own kind because they were different was horrible! What kind of people were they? Martha suddenly realized that she definitely didn't want them coming to Earth, or even know that Earth existed. She'd have to talk to Albert about it. He wouldn't like it but it was the only way they could keep Earth, and Kinrat, safe.

"Kindra! Martha! ALBERT!" Karen's voice yelled out of the kitchen, "Suppers ready!"

"Yoshi!" Kinrat exclaimed, and took off to the kitchen at a run.

Martha smiled sadly at the grin on Kinrat's face as she followed. Yes, she needed to talk to Albert.

--

"BAKA!" Kinrat shrieked, "What do you mean you can't fix it?!"

Albert backed up against his work bench and gulped nervously, the air in the room sizzled with the young Saiya-jin's anger. He looked over to where Martha was standing and she nodded encouragingly.

_Why did I let you convince me?!_ He wailed silently to her.

"Iseijin! Answer me!" Kinrat demanded loudly.

Albert took a deep breath, "I c..can't f..fix it! The the t..technology is too different!" He stammered nervously. "I I can't get our technology to work with it."

"AAAAH!" Kinrat shrieked in frustration, throwing her hands up into the air, "Baka iteki! I should have killed you when I first saw you!" She glared at him and started to advance on him again, "You told me that you could fix it!" She hissed with every step, "You told me it was 'no problem'! You told me you could get me home again! NOW you say you can't?! BAKA! You will pay for lying to me!"

"KINDRA!!" Martha thundered, "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

Kinrat just kept advancing on Albert, her face twisted into a snarl.

"KINRAT! I SAID STOP!" Martha roared as she quickly came across the room and got between the angry girl and Albert. "Kinrat!"

Kinrat stopped moving and glared at the woman, "Get out of my way, iseijin!" She growled.

"No." Martha replied calmly, staring the girl down. "It's not Albert's fault, he did his best but we told you that this might happen, remember?"

Kinrat straightened from her crouch and crossed her arms across her chest, she raised her head arrogantly. "Does not matter!" She said, falling back into her broken speech. "Albert say he fix, he should fix! No uso to Kinrat!"

Martha sighed, "He didn't lie Kinrat, he tried and couldn't do it." Martha raised an eyebrow, "There's no reason why you should kill him because he didn't live up to your expectations."

Kinrat started and frowned, "Naze na? Kinrat want go home!" She snarled sadly. "If Oniisan, Otousan, and Vegeta-san don't come!" A single tear trickled down her cheek. She spun around and with a soft sob, ran out of the lab.

Both Martha and Albert heaved a great sigh of relief, "I hated doing that to her!" Martha said sadly. "But if her people find her" She sighed again and walked over to the nearly repaired spaceship. "How far along are you with it?"

Albert came up next to her, "Almost everything is online," He told her proudly, "There's one component that was completely trashed though, I think it was the communications array and homing beacon. I could have fixed it, y'know."

Martha nodded, "I know, you've done some amazing things with it over the past three months, bro."

Albert sighed, "So what do you think we should do with it?" He asked.

"Scrap it," She told him harshly. "Take whatever technology can be used with ours and then scrap the rest."

Albert nodded, "Okay, if you say so. Just seems a shame"

"I know." Martha turned to leave.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!" Albert said catching her arm. "I spoke to Dr. Briefs at Capsule Corp in Japan a couple of days ago."

She turned back and looked at him curiously, "Yeah, so? You do that every quarter! Why you guys like to have that bragging contest is beyond me!" She said jokingly.

Albert grinned, "It's fun! Besides, he did most of the bragging this time since I had to keep my mouth shut about the ship. Anyway, he was telling me that his daughter just got back from a trip she took this summer." He said in a rush, "She was looking for something called the 'Dragonballs'."

Martha's eyebrows raised slightly, "She was looking for that old myth?" She chuckled. "The kid can't be that smart!"

"Well, apparently she not only found them, she also met some interesting friends along the way." Albert told her, ignoring her interruption. "And one was a little boy about Kinrat's age who had a tail!"

Martha's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline, "You're kidding me! There's another Saiya-jin kid on Earth?" She gasped. "Sweet Kami, we're in trouble if he and Kinrat ever hook up!"

"That was my reaction at first too, but then he told me that the kid." He grinned. "Apparently the kid's as gentle as a lamb, he wouldn't harm a fly. Not very bright though. I got the impression that he thinks he's human since he was raised by his grandfather in some remote temple in northern Japan."

Martha calmed slightly, "He thinks he's human? The tail's a dead giveaway that he isn't!" Then her eyes widened, "Albert! You have to call him back and tell them to keep the kid out of the full moon! If they don't"

"Easy sis, it's okay." Albert soothed. "I didn't tell you the best part! According to Dr. Briefs, the kid apparently transformed into a huge monster during the full moon. They probably got quite a shock when he did it, I can only imagine what an Oozaru transformation looks like! Anyway, just like Kinrat said happens to young Saiya-jins when they transform, the kid went berserk and went rampaging through the night. BUT! One of them accidentally cut off his tail and he transformed back to normal! Since then, he hasn't transformed again!"

Martha looked at him skeptically, "So, what you're saying is cut off a Saiya-jins tail and they can't transform?" She asked.

Albert nodded vigorously, "Yes! So now we know that all we have to do is remove Kinrats tail and we won't have to worry about her transforming into an Oozaru!"

Martha looked at him surprised, "We can't do that! Her tail is her pride and joy!" She exclaimed.

Albert sighed, "Yeah, but!"

Martha frowned, "No buts! We're not removing her tail and that's final!" She said vehemently. "The kid's been through enough and I'm not about to put her through the trauma of losing her tail, understand?"

Albert nodded slowly, "Okay, if you say so. I still think it would be a good idea" He trailed off when his sister gave him a dangerous look.

--

"Wake up Lieutenant Tamotes." A gentle female voice called.

Tamotes' eyes fluttered open slowly and he took a deep breath.

"We have reached the coordinates." The computer informed him as it sensed him shifting in his seat.

"Good," He snarled. Being in stasis always put him into a foul mood. "Scan the area for any sign of target craft."

Tamotes crossed his arms and looked sullenly out the pods window at the stars beyond. _Are you out there, imouto?_ He sent out into the darkness._ It's me, I've come to bring you home_. There was no answer but his senses told him that she was close.

"Tamotes!" Crackled through the comlink in his scouter.

He pressed the side of it and winced at the burst of static that came through it, "Vegeta-san? Can you hear me?" He called back.

There was a burst of static and then loud swearing, "I can barely read you! Are you picking anything up?" The Prince asked from inside his own pod that drifted about a half lightyear away.

"She's close," Tamotes said carefully through the static. "That's all I can tell you at the moment."

"Keep trying! KUSO!!" The Prince swore through another burst of static.

Tamotes smiled slightly at the Princes verbal frustration. _Kinrat! Answer me! Vegeta-sama and I have come to get you!_

--

Kinrat ran through the forest behind the Trent Corp. compound. Ragged sobs tore out of her and tears ran down her face. "It's not fair!!" She wailed.

She bounced off a tree and fell into a sobbing heap at the base of it. _ONIISAN! VEGETA-SAN!! HELP ME!!_

--

_ONIISAN! VEGETA-SAN!!_ Wailed softly across Tamotes' mind, jerking him out of his light trance.

"WHAT was that?!" Vegeta exclaimed through the static.

"You heard that?" Tamotes asked, punching furiously on his console. _IMOUTO! WE ARE HERE!_

--

_IMOUTO!_ Her brothers voice whispered in her mind. 

Kinrat started and looked around, "Oniisan?" She called out, "ONIISAN?!?"

There was no answer, her tears started to run in torrents. She let out a long anguished wail and pounded her hands on the ground. _ONIISAN! VEGETA-SAN! HELP ME!!!_

--

_ONIISAN! VEGETA-SAN! HELP ME!!!_

"That's her!" Vegeta growled, banging on his console. "But where is she?"

"I don't know, with all this magnetic interference I can't even get a clear reading!" Tamotes replied, frustration coloring his voice. "KUSO! BAKAYARO COMPUTER!!"

A sharp keening wail cut through Vegeta's mind and tore through his entire being. "Neither can I!" Vegeta hissed. _Baka girl! What is it about you that I can't let go?_ He thought frustrated.

The little second class girl and what she had said to him had haunted him over the first two months of his training. He just couldn't get her out of his mind and it almost drove him to complete distraction. When he had found out that she had not arrived on her assigned planet, it had nearly unhinged him. Now, he was out on the edges of frontier space, without leave, looking for her and he truly didn't even know why.

_Kinrat-chan! We'll find you!_

--

_Kinrat!_

Kinrat curled up into a little ball and whimpered at the soft familiar voice. _Vegeta-san? Is that you? Are you looking for me?_ She thought despondently. _Or have I been declared lost as any other scout would have been?_

_Imouto!_

"Oniisan!" She whimpered. _Oniisan! I want to come home!!_

--

_Vegeta-san looking lost scout?_ Rippled softly across the two Saiya-jins minds.

_Hai, imouto! Vegeta-sama and I are looking for you!_ Tamotes sent frantically back to his sister as he tried to get the computer to give him a clear reading of the surrounding area.

_Oniisan! Want home!!_

Tamotes heard Vegeta swear and heard a sporadic banging noise. "Hitting it won't help, Vegeta-san." Tamotes told the young Prince absently, watching the read-out.

There was a soft sigh, "Maybe not, but it made me feel a little better!" Vegeta said in reply. "How can you stand this? Hearing her and not being able to find her?!" He asked angrily.

Tamotes shrugged and he pressed in another set of commands, his mind working furiously. "It's not easy, my Prince. But at least we know she's out here somewhere." He told him.

"Yes, we know that!" The Prince growled. "For all the good it's doing us!"

"Pardon me for what I'm about to say, Vegeta-san, but would you just SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE!" Tamotes growled, frustrated at the noise.

Vegeta chuckled softly, "Hai, I will."

Tamotes sat back in his seat, letting the computer work on the new set of variables, and opened his mind wide. _IMOUTO! Tell us where you are!!_

--

_IMOUTO! Tell us where you are!_

Kami started in surprise. What was that? He looked down off of his platform, searching for the owner of the loud telepathic voice but found nothing.

_Kinrat! We are here! Where are you?!_

Kami's eyes widened with surprise and he looked up. Could it be? His heart started to hammer in his chest. No! They've come! He looked back over the Earth, desperately searching for the child.

--

Kinrat whimpered softly, drifting slowly into an exhausted sleep. "Vegeta-san" She sighed. "Oniisan find me!"

--

Tamotes balled his hands up into fists as a wave of anger washed over him. The contact had been lost.

"Why isn't she answering?" Vegeta demanded.

"I I don't know," Tamotes said tightly.

"Parameters accepted, plausible course plotted. Engage?" The computer reported.

"Yatta!" Tamotes exclaimed, "Vegeta-san, I'm sending you a course. I think we have a chance of finding her now."

"Good, the sooner, the better!" Vegeta replied.

--

Albert was just removing another component from the ship when a flash of golden light burst into being almost right beside him. He yelped and jumped back. "You!" He gasped.

Kami nodded, "Yes, I need to talk to you and your sisters." He said grimly.

Albert nodded, stunned almost speechless. "Sure!" He squeaked, backing up from the God. He turned and ran out of the lab into the living quarters. "MARTHA!!" He shrieked. "KAREN!"

Martha came running down the hallway and seconds later there was a flush from the bathroom and Karen peeked out the door, "WHAT?" Karen asked.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked him anxiously.

"There's someone in the Lab that wants to talk to all three of us." He told them shakily.

Karen sighed exasperatedly, "Albert! You dork! You scare the living wits out of me! Couldn't this have waited two seconds?"

Albert shook his head, "N-No! Definitely not!"

Martha frowned, "For Kami's sake MMMPH!" She gasped when her brother clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Exactly!" He gulped into her ear.

Martha and Karen's eyes widened, "He's back?" Karen asked.

Albert nodded, "And waiting in the Lab!"

Martha peeled his hand off of her mouth, "Then let's go!"

Moments later, the three of them entered the Lab cautiously. Kami turned and looked at them.

"Kinrat's brother is coming." He told them.

The three of them gasped. "Oh shit!" Martha exclaimed, "We're in trouble!"

Kami smiled slightly and turned back to the partially dismantled ship, "Maybe not."

--

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Vegeta asked for the upteenth time in the last 24 hours.

Tamotes grimaced, "Yes, I can sense her stronger now." He told him. Keeping his eyes peeled to the window.

"I wonder how the hell her ship made it through that asteroid field." Vegeta growled after a few minutes of silence. "We barely made it!"

Tamotes sighed and put his head in his hands, "I don't know, but that may be why there was no homing signal sent." He said, shaking his head. _Killing the Prince would be instant death, just remember that!_ He told himself, getting a little sick of the Princes constant chatter.

_ONIISAN!!_ Shrieked across his mind loudly.

Tamotes gasped and Vegeta swore. _Kinrat! I'm here!_ He called back, joyfully.

_Oniisan? Where are you? I can't see you!_ Kinrat replied frantically. _It's so dark and cold, niisan!_

Tamotes frowned, what did she mean by that?_ Imouto, it's okay. Just tell us where you are!_

_Us?_ She sobbed. 

"Tell her." Vegeta growled gruffly.

_Hai, imouto, Vegeta-sama is here too!_

__

_Vegeta-san? VEGETA-SAN! You came too!_

_Hai, I'm here too_. Vegeta sent back weakly, unused to using his telepathy.

_Imouto! Tell us where you are so we can bring you home!_ Tamotes sent urgingly.

_I don't know. It's so dark, oniisan!_

"Could she still be in stasis?" Vegeta asked. "Could she communicate with us while still in stasis?"

"I don't know. We've never tried it before." Tamotes said wonderingly. "I suppose it's possible."

_Oniisan! Vegeta-san! It's so cold I'm so cold!_ She wailed. _Help me!!_

Tamotes felt his heart flip in his chest, _We're coming imouto! Hold on!_

__

"Target craft locate, approximately 2.3 lightyears to starboard." Tamotes' computer reported. "Low energy signature detected."

"She's practically dead in space!" Vegeta snarled.

"Give me lifesigns!" Tamotes ordered.

"Scanning."

Even later, Tamotes wasn't sure what happened first, the psychic shock or the explosion, but he knew he would remember both for the rest of his days. Her anguished shriek reverberated through his mind and then, as light blossomed in the distance as her pod exploded, painful lights and sounds tore through his brain. He could faintly hear his parents anguished cries in the back of his mind. 

"KINRAT!!" He yelled. "No, Kinrat, please!"

As abruptly as it started, the lights disappeared and Tamotes lay sobbing in his seat, "Kinrat imouto!" He groaned, his heart felt like it was being torn apart from the grief.

"KINRAT-CHAN!" He heard Vegeta wail. "NO!"

"Vegeta" Tamotes called hoarsely. "Vegeta she's gone."

"NO! She can't be!" Vegeta sobbed, pounding on the window of his pod. "She just can't be! KINRAT!!!" Energy crackled around him.

Alarms started to go off within Tamotes' craft and he groaned when the sound sent worse pains though his already pounding head. "Danger! Prince Vegeta's pod cannot withstand the level of energy! Danger!"

Tamotes pulled himself forward and looked through his window towards Vegeta's pod. Bluish white lights danced around it. "Vegeta-san calm down!" He called to him.

Only Vegeta's howls of rage answered him.

"Kuso! Bakayaro! Calm down or you'll explode your ship!" Tamotes yelled weakly. "Why me?!" He snarled when the Prince didn't seem to be calming down at all. "Computer, initiate program Royal Savior immediately!"

"Running." The computer reported, linking up with Vegeta's computer and sending the Prince into deep stasis.

Tamotes sighed in relief as the lights died and Vegeta's and his pods started to reverse course. He sat back in his seat and let the tears come.

--

"CLEAR!"

There was an electrical sizzle and a snap.

"Again! CLEAR!"

Snap!

"Come on kid! You can make it! Pump it up 50! CLEAR!!"

Snap!

A series of rhythmic beeps permeated the room and there was a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank you Kami!"

"You're welcome."

* * *


	4. Kinrat The Lost Scout: Part Four

DISCLAIMER: All characters from Dragonball Z belong to TOEI, FUNImation, Cartoon Network, and YTV. They're not mine, I'm just borrowing them. All other characters are figments of my imagination and kinda, sorta, belong to me. If you'd like to use them, let me know and we'll work something out.

Kinrat - The Lost Scout  
Part Four

* * *

14 BF

"Kindra!" Martha yelled exasperatedly, "Kindra Trent, you open this door right now!"

"Sonna, iseijin!" Shrieked through the door.

Martha pounded on the door again, "Kindra, open this door right now or I'll break it down!"

"HA!" Kinrat scoffed, "Weakling iseijin!"

Martha counted up to ten in English and then back in Japanese, "Listen you! You're going to be late!"

"No late! Not going!" Kinrat yelled.

"You don't go, you don't get training room privileges for a month!" Martha threatened.

"BAKA ISEIJIN! Omae da!" Kinrat shrieked.

"Try me." Martha replied with a small triumphant smile.

The door was thrown open and Kinrat stood there glaring at her. Martha's smile turned in a delighted grin.

"You look wonderful, Kindra!" She exclaimed, happy to see the girl finally in something other than armor.

Kinrat just growled and stormed past her, "Baka iteki!" Martha heard her mutter.

Martha chuckled and followed, "Now remember, Kindra," Martha said, "You promised you would behave like a human."

"Hai!" Kinrat snarled, "Don't see why! Kinrat not_ human_!"

Martha gave her a stern glare, "I know that, you know that, but they don't need to know that!" She reminded the girl.

When they got to the door, Martha handed her a blue backpack that was sitting by it. Kinrat snatched it out of her hand and gave her a dirty look. Martha sighed, it was going to be a long drive!

Albert and Karen were waiting for them outside by the car. Kinrat just growled at them and climbed into the car. They looked over at Martha, she shrugged.

"She's not in the best of moods." She sighed.

Karen smiled while Albert frowned. "Are you sure about this?" He asked her. "I still don't think it's a very good idea."

Martha glanced over at Kinrat who was sullenly staring out the front window and motioned her brother and sister over. "She's got to socialize with kids her own age!" She whispered when they got to her, "Until she does, she won't let go of her past!"

"Yeah, but!" Albert protested.

"ISEIJIN! Are going or not?!" Kinrat hollered out the car window.

Martha put on a bright smile, "Of course we're going, Kindra!" She called back, fishing the keys out of her pocket. "Say goodbye to Albert and Karen like a good girl."

"Sayonara, Albert, Karen!" Kinrat sneered, glaring at Albert evilly, "Be back later!"

Albert gulped convulsively, "Maybe her going isn't such a bad idea." He muttered nervously.

Martha got into the car and put the key into the ignition, "Put on your seatbelt, Kindra." She instructed.

Kinrat snorted but complied. "Seatbelts!" She muttered, "Baka iteki inventions!"

As soon as they were both safely belted in, Martha turned the key and gunned the ignition. A split second later they were moving. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kinrat grip her backpack and gulp nervously.

"There's no reason to be nervous, Kindra," Martha told her. "Everyone goes to"

"Baka! Keep eyes on road!" Kinrat snapped, gripping the car door. "Nervous about iseijin Martha driving, not that!"

Martha sighed and looked back at the road, "Get used to it, Kindra. You can't go flying everywhere, you know. It's just not normal."

Kinrat blinked and prayed to Kami that Martha saw the big truck coming towards them, "Hai! Kinrat know, but iseijin Martha sure like to try!" She yelped as Martha swerved around the truck back onto the right side of the road. "Let Kinrat out! Kinrat fly, iseijin Martha go home! Next time iseijin Karen drive Kinrat!"

Martha chuckled, "There's nothing wrong with my driving, Kinrat!" She reached over and adjusted the red ribbon in Kinrat's hair. The car started to drift over into the other lane again.

"MARTHA-SAN! Look out!" Kinrat shrieked when another large truck loomed down on them.

Martha jerked the wheel and brought them back into the lane. Kinrat sighed in relief. _Yes, next time Karen-san can take me or I'll fly! _She shot Martha a dirty look and gripped the handle of the door, ready to leap out in case of an emergency.

Martha raised an eyebrow, ignoring the look. "Did you just call me 'Martha-san'?" She asked teasingly.

Kinrat shook her head vigorously, "No!" She denied.

"Yes you did! You just called me by my name!" Martha jibed. "Maybe you like me more than you'll admit to, huh?"

"Did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"Kinrat not!"

This went on until they pulled up in front of a large gray building. Kinrat looked out of the window and felt butterflies buzz nervously around her stomach, she didn't like this feeling at all!

"Here we are!" Martha announced cheerily. "Come on, Kinrat! Let's go to school!"

Kinrat shot Martha another one of her patented dirty looks and got reluctantly out of the car. _I don't want to be here! I don't want to do this!_ She thought angrily. School! Even though Martha and Karen had explained it to her, she still didn't understand why parents would jam the kids into a building and force them to learn things? And Martha said Saiya-jin were barbaric!

Kinrat sighed as she followed Martha up the stone steps to the doors. She'd promised, she would be good, she wouldn't kill anyone, and she would be polite and act like a normal human girl. Baka iteki!

She followed Martha down a long corridor, her eyes glued to the woman's back, not daring to look around. Her sensitive ears could hear the murmur of human voices all around her and she was beginning to become scared._ No! I will not be scared! If humans can do this then a Saiya-jin can too!_ She told herself sternly. She lifted her head a bit more arrogantly and followed Martha into a room.

"Ah, Ms. Trent!" A woman with blue hair greeted them. "We've been expecting you!"

Kinrat looked to her left and didn't let her surprise show in her eyes. Sitting in rows, and all staring at her, were Earth children. Lots of Earth children. Kinrat just gave them a cold glare and looked back up at Martha.

"And you must be Kindra!" The woman exclaimed, kneeling down in front of her. "My, aren't you a cute one! Such a beautiful dress you're wearing!"

Cute?! Kinrat thought startled. "Watashi wa kawai ku nai ya!" She replied arrogantly. "Watashi wa Saiya"

"Kindra!" Martha interrupted with a hard glare. "In English!"

"Hai, Obasan." Kinrat replied softly, lowering her eyes.

The woman smiled, "Yes, you told me that she was raised in Japan. It's alright, Japanese is such a musical language." She gushed.

Kinrat gave Martha a smug look and then looked back at the teacher.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class, Kindra?" The teacher suggested. "You can do it in Japanese and then in English, okay?"

Kinrat blinked in surprise, "Hai, senpei!" She nodded and turned to the class. "Ohayoo gozaimasu! Watakushi wa Trent Kindra. Watakushi wa roku sai. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." She bowed. She looked over at Martha and grinned slightly as the woman let out her breath. "Good morning! I am Kindra Trent. I'm six years old and I'm very pleased to meet you." She said in her sweetest voice.

Martha looked down at Kinrat in suspiciously. _The kids up to something! I can smell it! _But she was relieved too, Kinrat had made it through five minutes without being a Saiya-jin.

"Good morning Kindra!" The entire class said back to her.

Kinrat had to restrain herself from going into a fighting stance and plastered a stupid grin on her face as she bowed to the_ humans_ again._ I watched the television, I know how this works!_ She thought triumphantly. _Stupid aliens! So easily fooled!_

"Kindra," The teacher said. "Why don't you take a seat beside Daniel there, okay?"

A boy with chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes looked startled for a moment and then pointed to the empty seat beside him.

"Hai, senpei!" Kinrat bobbed another bow and made her way through the aisles to the seat. She sat down and ignored the curious looks from the other children. _Baka iteki!_

Martha stared at the brightly smiling face of the alien girl for a moment and then sighed. _As long as she doesn't forget herself, I think she'll be okay._ Then she had another thought and looked sternly at Kinrat. _Just don't forget to hide your tail, young lady! _

Kinrat blinked innocently but she knew what that look meant. Martha had given it to her a few times before when she'd forgotten to hide her tail. She tightened it around her waist and readjusted her dress over it so it didn't rub. "Obasan, you can go! I'll be fine now." Kinrat called brightly to her.

Martha smiled and nodded, but there was a warning look in her eyes. Kinrat made shooing motions with her hands and Martha left. Kinrat sighed in relief and started looking around the room for a means of escape. If they think they can keep me here!

"Now class! Where were we?" The blue haired teacher said, turning back to the chalkboard.

"Hey!" The boy Daniel leaned slightly over and whispered to her. "What part of Japan are you from?"

Kinrat gave him a cold glare, "None of your business!" She hissed softly. "Leave me alone!"

Daniel pouted, "Aw. Come on! You can tell me! My sensei is from Okinawa"

"Sensei?" Kinrat's eyes narrowed, she suddenly wished she had her scouter with her. "You know how fight?"

Daniel nodded, "Hai! I've only been training for a year but my sensei said that I might be good enough to enter the Junior Tournament this year." He replied slowly in Japanese.

Kinrat raised an eyebrow slightly. Perhaps being in school had advantages she hadn't even considered. "Then I challenge you!" She whispered to him.

The boys eyes widened slightly, "You what?" He squeaked in English.

"Kindra challenge iseijin Daniel!" She said arrogantly.

"Kindra! Daniel! Is there something you'd like to share with the class?" The teacher interrupted.

"No, senpei!" Kinrat replied sweetly.

"No." Daniel said softly, still staring at Kinrat with amazement.

The teacher tapped her foot impatiently. "Then would you kindly keep your eyes on the blackboard please?" She instructed.

"Hai senpei!" Kinrat nodded. She grinned and watched the boy out of the corner of her eye.

She didn't get a chance to talk to him more about her challenge until the bell rang for recess. By then, Kinrat was ready for a fight.

"Baka alien teacher!" She snarled in Standard, stomping her way out to the playground. "Does she think I'm an idiot or something?! Even a third class Saiya-jin babe could understand her questions!"

She opened the door to the schoolyard and blinked in amazement, "Earthlings must breed like rats!" She hissed in surprise as she looked around the crowd of students.

"Kindra!" Several girls called to her. "Kindra, over here!"

Kindra blinked again, this time in surprise as a pretty blonde haired human girl waved her arms to get her attention. Kinrat sighed and pasted back on the stupid smile she had adopted for the school.

"Hai!" She called back, making her way down the steps and over to the small crowd of girls.

The blond haired girl grinned as Kinrat approached and Kinrat sized the group up. There were about seven of them and, from what she could tell, they were from age six to age eight. All were very pretty and each had a very arrogant look on their faces.

"Kindra," The blonde haired girl said, Kinrat finally realized that the girl was in her class. "Kindra this is Stacy, Amanda, Cheryl, Tammy, Lorelei, and Gail." She pointed to each of them in turn.

Kinrat bowed slightly, "Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." She said to them.

"See?! Didn't I tell you she was cool?" The blonde haired girl exclaimed to the others.

The tallest, a girl with short red hair cut in a bob around her face, a denim jean jacket and skirt, whom the blonde had called Lorelei, looked Kinrat over with a disdainful sniff. "I don't know, she has the looks but does she have the attitude?"

_Nani? What the hell is this?_ "Gomen?" Kinrat asked, "I don't understand."

Gail, a girl with chestnut brown hair gave an exasperated sigh. "Geez! Don't they have cliques were you come from, girl?" She asked.

Kinrat blinked, _Cliques? Do they mean class?_

"Obviously not!" Gail giggled. "I mean come on! That outfit! That was like, so yesterday!"

The rest of the girls started to laugh. Kinrat clenched her hands at her sides and counted slowly to ten in English under her breath. "Don't. Laugh. At. Me!" She snarled. "No one, laughs at Kindra!"

"Oooo! I think we hurt the little things feelings!" Cheryl, a girl with brown skin, teased. "Are you gonna cry, little girl?"

The rest of the girls broke out into a louder fit of laughter while Cheryl made exaggerated crying noises at Kinrat. Kinrat looked from one girl to another, Saiya-jin rage and pride began to well up from inside of her. A growl started low in Kinrat's throat and turned into a shriek as she grabbed Cheryl by the front of her pink tee-shirt and dragged her towards her until her nose was millimeters away from Kinrat's.

"Listen closely, iseijin!" She hissed to the girl. "Kindra talk slowly so a low class trash can understand! Reason you an' your iseijin friends still breathe because would be waste of Kindra's energy. But, laugh more at Kindra and then might consider waste worth it!"

She tossed the girl back to her friends and crossed her arms in front of her. Cheryl stumbled and whimpered as she dove for the safety of her friends. Lorelei frowned at Kinrat but Kinrat just sneered at her and tilted her head arrogantly.

"You've got 'tude, girl." Lorelei said after a moment. "But I don't like it."

"Baka!" Kinrat spat back. "Like Kindra care!"

"What did you just call me, squirt?!" Lorelei asked angrily, her green eyes flashing.

Kinrat pretended to look shocked, "Oh, did just call iseijin, baka? Gomen nasai! Kindra meant bakayaro!" She said sarcastically.

"What the hell is a 'bakayaro'?!" Lorelei demanded.

"It's means extreme idiot." A boys voice said, Daniel stepped out of the crowd around them. "It's an insult, Lorie."

"What?!" Lorelei shrieked. "Why you little bitch!"

Kinrat laughed, "Better a bitch than fool!" She told the girl. 

Lorelei let out a howl and lunged towards Kinrat. Kinrat just smiled and stepped out of the girls way. Lorelei crashed into a few students and spun around with a snarl.

"Baka!" Kinrat jibed. "Want live, better stop!"

Lorelei let out a loud shriek and made another lunge at the sneering girl. Kinrat shook her head and avoided the swing the older girl took at her.

"That all you got?" Kinrat asked. "Pathetic!"

Lorelei picked herself up out of the arms of her friends and took a deep breath. She slowly crouched into a fighting stance, "Alright, bitch!" She snarled, "Let's dance!"

Kinrat grinned, "Yoshi! Better! Not let anger get in way of fight!" She exclaimed, dropping into her own fighting stance. "Come, iseijin, dance with Kindra!"

"Oh boy! Lorie's gonna cream her!" The girl Stacy with short brown hair exclaimed. 

Kinrat spared a glance at Daniel and grinned at his frown. Lorelei took advantage of her momentary distraction and attacked. Kinrat blocked her easily and sighed.

"Baka! Clumsy!" She said with disappointment to the girl as she held the girls hand in her own. "Weak!"

Lorelei's foot shot up and Kinrat swatted it away with her other hand. "Predictable!" She sneered.

Lorelei dropped to her back and flipped Kinrat over her head. Kinrat twisted in mid-air and landed on her feet. She crossed her arms against and looked at the girl skeptically. _Maybe I was wrong. She's not much of a challenge. Don't they teach them how to fight properly on this planet?_

"Baka iseijin done wasting Kindra's time?" She asked her.

Lorelei just growled and rushed at her again. Kinrat blocked her punches and kicks with a bored look. Finally, she had enough of the weak girls attacks and swatted the girl across the face. Lorelei fell to the ground, momentarily stunned. Kinrat made an exaggerated yawn and looked down at the girl at her feet.

"Pathetic!" She sniffed, turned and walked away. "Baka aliens!" She muttered.

--

Daniel looked back and forth from the girl on the ground to Kindra's retreating back._ Oh wow! I've never seen moves like that!_ He thought amazed._ And Lorie's a brown belt too!_ He suddenly made up his mind, and took off after his classmate.

"Hey! Kindra!" He called to her, pushing his way through the crowd.

Kindra stopped and turned slightly towards his voice, "What want, iseijin Daniel?" She asked him, a note of exasperation in her voice. "If want fight Kindra, no need now. Iseijin no challenge."

Daniel caught up with her, "No, it's not that. I just wanted to tell you how awesome I thought your moves were!" He told her.

"Awe-some?" She asked, puzzled. Her left hand drifted up to the side of her face and then she snatched it back down again. "Nan da awesome?"

Daniel smiled, "Awesome, you know spectacular, amazing, incredible!"

"Then why not say spectacular or amazing or incredible?" She sighed. "Baka iteki! Naze na"

"It's just slang, 'colloquial'" He said in Japanese.

Kindra nodded, "Wakatta" She turned to leave again.

"Wait!" Daniel said, grabbing her arm. He was surprised to find that she was so muscular.

Kindra turned back and gave him a deadly glare. Daniel hastily let go of her arm, "I I just wanted to know uh if you wanted to come over to my sensei's place after school." He said in a rush. "I'm sure he'd love to talk to someone from Japan and a martial artist too!"

Kindra blinked and stared at him. "Hai, I come to see sensei." She replied slowly. "Perhaps sensei be challenge to Kindra."

Daniel sighed in relief, "Great!"

--

Kinrat spent the rest of the day wondering why she had accepted the boys invitation to go see his sensei. It was true, that she thought his sensei might provide the right type of challenge for Kindra but she had to admit that she'd felt something else when he asked her. 

It was loneliness.

She'd tried hard to push it into the deepest depths of her soul and concentrate on training, but it was always there. Always nibbling away at her and making her feel hollow inside. She missed her home. She missed her parents. She missed her brother. She even dared to admit that she missed Vegeta. Martha, Albert, and Karen had been trying to make her feel like she fit in but they always seemed to be trying to make her into someone she wasn't. But lately, when she got angry at them and called them insulting names, she felt bad about doing it.

Kinrat didn't like what this planet was doing to her. It was making her forget herself.

At lunch time, Kinrat discovered something odd about Earthling children. When she walked into the cafeteria, which is alive with loud chatter a moment before, everyone stopped talking and watched her get her lunch. By the time she paid for it with the money that Martha had given her, the silence was starting to become unnerving. As she made her way to one of the empty tables, Lorelei stepped out in front of her, blocking her way. Kinrat had just stared coolly at the human girl and then smirked when she saw the bruise on the girls cheek.

"Kindra" Lorelei began hesitantly.

"Hai, baka?" Kinrat sneered.

Lorelei sighed and looked over at her friends sitting at the table. They all nodded.

"We wanted to know if you wanted to sit with us." Lorelei said quickly, not looking into Kinrat's eyes.

Kinrat frowned and looked at the girls at the table. They were all smiling at her and encouraging her to sit down. There was something about their fashionable clothes, lipglossed lips, earringed ears, and vapid eyes that gave Kinrat a serious case of the willies.

"No." Kinrat shook her head and stepped around the girl.

"Why not?!" Lorelei snarled, grabbing Kinrats arm.

Kinrat gave the girl a dangerous look. Lorelei paled and snatched her hand back.

"Baka! Think Kindra be friends with low class trash like iseijin Lorelei?" Kinrat chuckled darkly. "Gomen! Kindra better than baka iseijin girls! Kindra no need for 'clique' because Kindra have blood of Elite Class in veins. Never lower to weakling pathetic class iseijin!"

Lorelei gaped and Kinrat continued on to another table. Everyone in the cafeteria starting talking at once as Kinrat sat down. Several kids came over to her table and joined her, trying to ask her questions about her background. Kinrat mostly ignored them but did confirm what she thought of Lorelei and her group. She soon learned what it meant to be 'popular' and those who thought she was cool soon learned she didn't tolerate stupidity.

By the end of the day, she was ready to kill someone.

"Daniel! Going now?" She tugged gently on his arm, impatient.

Daniel smiled, tying the last knot in his shoe. "Yeah, we're going." He stood up and shouldered his backpack. "Come on."

Kinrat nodded, "Good!" She said, following him out of the school grounds.

They walked in silence for about a mile and then Daniel spoke up, "Why do you talk like that?" He asked her.

"Like what?" She looked at him sideways with a small smile.

"Like you don't know all the words. You speak well in class but outside you omit words." He told her.

"Kindra talk way want. Not like iseijin English!" She replied, "Speak in class because expected and Obasan say if Kindra not get good grades, Kindra can't use training room."

Daniel looked at her oddly, "Iseijin English? What's an iseijin?"

Kinrat only smiled secretively and didn't reply.

Daniel sighed, _Stranger and stranger she gets!_ "So, you live with your aunt at the Trent Corp. compound?" He asked her.

"Hai." Kinrat nodded.

"Where are your parents?"

Kinrat almost stopped walking, startled at the question. "Otousan, Okaasan, away. Far away." She told him, fighting back the sharp pang in her heart.

Daniel didn't notice the pained look on her face, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Hai, Oniisan and imouto with parents." She said softly, looking up into the sky. _Oniisan! Will I ever see any of you again?_

"Oniisan big brother?" Daniel asked for her confirmation.

Kinrat nodded, "Hai, imouto little sister. Just baby when Kindra leave." _She must just be turning two now. Starting to learn to control her ki and her abilities._ She sighed.

"That's rough," Daniel said sympathetically. "Did they send you to the States to go to school?"

Kinrat was unsure of how to answer that and said nothing.

"It's okay, if you don't want to talk about it." Daniel said, finally noticing the sad look on her face.

"Hai, no want to talk about family." Kinrat told him.

Daniel smiled, "Okay, 'cause we're almost there!" He pointed to the top of a hill a few miles away. "See there? That's my sensei's dojo and home."

Kinrat squinted slightly and shrugged when she brought the building into focus. "Hai, I see." She told him.

Daniel looked at her surprised, "That wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for but" He grinned. "Come on! I'll race ya!"

"Nani?!" Kinrat yelped as Daniel took off at a sprint. "HEY!!"

Daniel just laughed at her over his shoulder and kept on running. Kinrat chuckled and took off after him. She quickly caught up with him and giggled as she passed him by. Daniel looked startled for a moment and then found some extra speed to catch up with her. Kinrat gave him an approving look and started to push herself to keep ahead of him. They raced down the street, weaving in and out of pedestrians, around lightpoles and anything else that got in their way. They were about even but Kinrat jumped and made it before him to the steps of the dojo. She lay panting on the ground and Daniel flopped down beside her.

"Wow!" Daniel wheezed in amazement. "I haven't run like that in a long time!"

"Me neither!" Kinrat panted, feeling exhilarated by the tingling in her body from the adrenaline. "Should, race more often. Good training!"

"Hai! Good training for Daniel-san too!" A male voice said from the top of the steps.

Kinrat was on her feet and in her battlestance in an instant. Then she blinked in surprise, "You Daniel sensei?" She asked, straightening.

The wizened old man, in a white and blue flower shirt, and khaki shorts and sandals, standing at the top of the steps nodded. "Hai, I Muten Masagi, Daniel-san's sensei and guardian." He said to her, eyeing her warily.

"I am Kindra Trent." Kinrat said in Japanese as she bowed slightly.

Masagi's eyebrows raised slightly, "You speak Japanese?"

"Hai, Muten Masagi!" Kinrat replied, a little disappointed by the old man.

"Then perhaps you could tell Masagi why you have such a high power level for one so young?" He asked her, coming down a few steps.

Kinrat had to think about it for a moment, "I was trained by my father from age two, perhaps that is the reason?" She replied, then she looked at him skeptically. "How does Muten Masagi know that I have a high power level?"

Masagi chuckled, "Ah child, why should I tell you that when you not tell Masagi whole truth about your power level?" 

Kinrat felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth, _I think I'm going to like this man! He thinks like a Saiya-jin! _

Daniel looked from his new friend to his sensei and back again. There was more going on here than met the eye, he knew that much. Just what was it?

"Uh, sensei, I brought Kindra here to meet you. She is very skilled in martial arts and she comes from Japan." He said, just to be included in the conversation.

Masagi came down the rest of the steps and peered into Kinrat's eyes, "Hai, you did right Daniel-san. Yoroshiku, Kindra-san, welcome to the Masagi-do Dojo." He said after a moment. "Come inside, Masagi just put kettle on for tea!"

Kinrat followed the man up the stairs and stopped at the top, stunned. Trees, flowers and vines adorned the yard. The ground was paved with a mosaic of gray tiles that drew the eye to the front doors of the dojo. It was unlike any other building that Kinrat had ever seen._ Is this Japanese?_ She wondered, her eyes roaming across the structure._ It's beautiful!_

"Ah ha! Finally, the reaction!" Daniel crowed jubilantly.

Kindra gave him a puzzled look and shrugged, "Reaction? No, surprised at waste of space." She said, covering her delight.

Daniel frowned slightly but saw a twinkle in the girls eyes, he smiled. "Hai, if you say so Kindra." 

Kindra just sniffed, lifted her head arrogantly, and followed Masagi across the courtyard and up the steps of the dojo. Daniel chuckled as he followed her.

"Daniel-san have homework?" Masagi asked as he led them around the side of the building.

"Hai sensei, a little." Daniel replied, making a face.

"Then Daniel-san do homework after have tea, while Masagi talk with Kindra-san." Masagi told him and then looked over his shoulder at Kindra. "Unless Kindra-san have homework too?" 

Kindra shook her head, "Kindra no have homework. Kindra finish all baka teacher work in school." The tone of her voice spoke volumes of what she thought about that.

"Good, then Kindra-san and Masagi-san can have a nice chat." Masagi said, pulling back the door of the eating room. "Come, sit! Masagi will make tea!"

Kindra followed Daniel's example and knelt down beside the low table. She instantly felt her legs fall asleep._ How can they sit like this? _She wondered. She let her eyes flicker around the room, taking in every picture, statue, and piece of furniture that adorned the room. Daniel watched her out of the corner of his eye, there was something about her that didn't seem quite right for a girl who grew up in Japan.

A few minutes later, Masagi emerged from the kitchen with a tray laden with tea and snacks. Kinrats stomach rumbled and she realized that it had been a long time since she'd had her snack at recess. Her mouth started to water as he placed the tray on the table. Then she frowned.

"Is this all?" She asked a little plaintively.

Masagi chuckled, "Kindra-san eat, if still hungry Masagi can make more."

Still Kindra hesitated, not only was she wary about being poisoned, but Martha had told her many times to use her table manners when she was in public. Kindra was having a hard time not diving into the food. She watched carefully as Daniel took one of the sandwiches, took a bite, and swallowed before snatching her own from the tray. She ate it quickly and went back for more.

Masagi watched Kindra devour the pile of sandwiches he had put on the tray. He chuckled softly at her rapacious appetite._ I was right, she's just like Son Gohan's grandson._ He thought to himself. His eyes flickered to her waist and he could just make out a small bulge around her mid-section._ Hai, I was right!_

Kindra suddenly discovered that there were no more sandwiches on the tray and looked over at Masagi, her stomach rumbled loudly for more food sparing her from asking for more.

"Wow! I've never seen anyone eat that much before!" Daniel exclaimed, amazed. "Where do you put it?"

Kinrat shrugged and watched the door to the kitchen expectantly. She was hungry!

"Kindra-san?" Masagi called from the kitchen as he piled more sandwiches onto the tray.

"Hai?"

"Masagi-san think Kindra-san should call home so parents don't worry." He told her with a small smile.

"Hai, Kindra should call so Obasan not worry and shriek at Kindra when get home." Kindra replied with a small smile.

_Obasan, huh? _Masagi thought amused as he brought the tray back into the eating area. "Obasan? Is that what you call your guardian?" He asked in Japanese.

Kinrat froze as she reached for another sandwich. "Gomen?" She stammered.

Masagi smiled gently, "Hai, the person who keeps your secret, you call her Obasan?"

Kinrat pulled her hand back and stared at the old man, "Secret? What do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed and her voice deadly.

"That you're an uchuujin." He said softly.

Kinrat paled, "How do you know that, old man?" She hissed.

"You're not the only tailed one to come to this planet, Kindra-san." He told her.

"Other Saiya-jin? Here?!" She squeaked in surprise and leaned towards Masagi, "Where?!" She demanded.

Masagi's eyes flickered over to Daniel who was engrossed in his homework. "A long time ago, many Saiya-jin is what you're called?" Kinrat nodded. "Came to this planet. They stayed for a few days and I and another managed to observe them while they were here."

"Hai, survey scouts." Kinrat filled in.

"Hai." Masagi nodded. "Although they spoke Japanese, their dialect was like yours. Japanese but not truly Japanese."

"So, there isn't any other Saiya-jin on this planet now?"

Masagi shook his head, deciding to omit telling her about Son Gohan's grandson. "No, you are the only Saiya-jin on the planet now." He told her. It was true enough since Gohan's grandson didn't remember anything about his past. 

Kinrat sighed in disappointment and felt another pang of loneliness go through her, she slowly got to her feet. "Arigato gozaimasu, for the food Masagi-san." She said sadly, bowing slightly to the old man.

"Where are you going Kindra?" Daniel asked, looking up at her.

"Kinra.. Kindra go home now, Daniel. Obasan be worried about Kindra." She told him, going over to the door and slipping her shoes back on and putting her backpack on her shoulder.

Masagi followed her to the door and outside. "Kindra-san," He said tentatively.

"Hai, iseijin Masagi?" She asked, staring up at the sky.

Masagi smiled at her calling _him_ the alien. "You will always be welcome here. If you want to talk or train, feel free to come here." He told her.

Kinrat just kept staring at the sky. "Ja, mata ne, Masagi." She replied softly. 

She stepped down the steps. She paused, then her aura blazed slightly and she took to the sky.

Masagi followed her with his eyes as long as he could with a sad smile on his face._ Kami, I will do what I can for her._

* * *


	5. Kinrat The Lost Svout: Part Five

DISCLAIMER: All characters from Dragonball Z belong to TOEI, FUNImation, Cartoon Network, and YTV. They're not mine, I'm just  
borrowing them. All other characters are figments of my imagination and kinda, sorta, belong to me. If you'd like to use them, let me  
know and we'll work something out.

Kinrat - The Lost Scout  
Part Five

* * *

14 BF

Masagi was in a deep sleep when he heard the outside bell start to ring urgently and somebody start to call his name.

"Hmm wha?" He yawned, rolling out of his bed in surprise.

"Masagi!!" A familiar girl's voice bellowed, "Muten Masagi!!"

"Kindra-san? What is she doing here?" He wondered, putting on his robe.

"Kindra?! What are you doing here?" He heard Daniel asked the girl in English. "And what are you wearing?!"

"Daniel? What doing here?" Kinrat asked, surprised. "Why not home?"

_Uh oh!_ Masagi thought, _Daniel-san didn't tell her that he lives here now._

"I uh live here?" Daniel stammered in reply.

Masagi stood just inside his door and listened.

"Live here? Why?" She asked. "Where Muten Masagi!?"

He heard Daniel sigh, "My parents died a year ago in a car crash. Mr. Masagi took me in and became my guardian."

There was a pause. "Omae You no parents?" Kinrat asked slowly.

"No, no one but my sensei."

Masagi decided it was about time he put in an entrance, "Kindra-san!" He called to her as he pulled back his door. "What you doing here?"

Kindra was standing by the bell pole about 20 feet away, staring at Daniel with an incredulous look on her face. "Hmmm?" She muttered, then she recovered her composure and looked over to him. "Hai! Masagi! There are you! Come, Kindra challenge Masagi!"

Masagi's heavy eyebrows rose slightly, "Kindra-san?" He asked quizzical. "Middle of the night and you challenge Masagi-san?"

"Hai!" Kinrat nodded, crossing her arms across her chest. "Kindra no could sleep, Kindra want work-out and thought Masagi could provide good sport."

Masagi wasn't sure how to take that but he sensed that it was something deeper than sleeplessness that had driven the girl there. She stepped into the light and Masagi had to keep himself from gasping out loud when he saw that she was in her Saiya-jin armor and had her tail wrapped around her waist. He glanced at Daniel and saw him looking at her in amazement. Masagi guessed her hadn't even noticed her tail.

"Masagi! Answer challenge!" Kinrat demanded.

Masagi sighed, "Hai, Masagi accept Kindra-san's challenge with three conditions."

Kinrat tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "What conditions?" She asked.

Masagi smiled, "Condition One: We spar only, no death match." He said raising one finger.

Kinrat's other eyebrow joined it's mate and Daniel gasped. "Hai," Kinrat nodded with a smirk.

"Condition Two:" Masagi raised another finger. "Kindra-san allow Masagi-san time to call Kindra-san's Obasan to let her know where Kindra-san is."

Kinrat let out a bark of laughter and nodded, "Hai, Masagi! Call Obasan."

"Condition Three:" He wasn't sure how she was going to take this last one. "If Masagi-san beat Kindra-san in match, then Kindra-san become Masagi-san's student for one year."

Kinrat started and her eyes widened slightly, "S-Student?" She gasped in Japanese, "Nani? You expect me, a Saiya-jin, to become a student to an alien? Are you insane?"

Masagi grinned, "Is condition, Kindra-san." He told her in English. "Accept or no match with Masagi-san."

Kinrat frowned and glared angrily at him for a moment. She reached behind her and unclipped her scouter from the back of her armor. She placed it on her face and tapped the button.

"What is that?" Daniel asked, coming over to Masagi.

"Called scouter, reads power levels." Masagi told him, dredging that piece of information up from his memory.

A grin grew on Kinrat's face as the scouter finished it's work and display a three digit number on the eyepiece. "Hai, Masagi." She said, removing it again and returning it to its holder. "Kindra accept Masagi conditions."

Masagi nodded and grinned, "Good!" He said delighted. "Now, Masagi-san will get dressed and then we call Kindra-san's Obasan."

Daniel followed Masagi back into his room while Kindra stayed outside.

"Sensei? Why didn't you tell her that you were suppressing your power level?" Daniel asked with a slight grin.

Masagi chuckled, "Kindra-san will know soon enough, as well as a few other things." The old man opened a large wooden chest at the foot of his bed and pulled out a bundle of orange fabric.

"Sensei?"

"Hai, Daniel-san?" Masagi replied, putting on his Gi.

"There's something different about Kindra isn't there?" The boy asked him tentatively.

"Hai, Daniel-san."

--

Kinrat wandered around the courtyard, trying to calm her excitement. Finally! She was going to get a challenge! His power level wasn't as high as hers but it was high enough that he would last more than five minutes with her. She smiled slightly, the stupid alien thought he could trap her into being his student! He must have forgotten about the scouters then she frowned. No, he hadn't been surprised when she put hers on. Actually, he seemed to be expecting it. Daniel had been surprised though

Her frown deepened. Daniel. What was she going to do about him? He'd seen her in her armor and he'd probably already noticed her tail. It tightened around her waist convulsively. What would Daniel do now, now that he knew she was an alien? Would he tell others? She shuddered. Martha, Karen, and Albert had told her quite plainly what could happen if the government ever got their hands on her and she hated to admit that it scared her. She'd rather die than allow them to trap her and put her in a cage!

_Well, if he even thinks about telling anyone I could always kill him._ She thought practically. Then she felt an unfamiliar emotion go through her. _What the hell? Guilt?_

"Kindra-san!" Masagi called, startling her.

"Hai.. Hai Masagi?" She called back shakily.

"Call Obasan now!" Masagi and Daniel were standing on the porch. Masagi was wearing an orange Gi with a Japanese glyph on the left shoulder.

Kinrat nodded, already dreading how Martha would react. She came over to the Dojo and he led her to a different door and to a phone. Kinrat slowly dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Martha's sleepy voice answered.

"Obasan?" Kinrat said tentatively.

There was a pause, "Kinrat?!" Martha gasped. "What?"

"Kindra just calling to let Obasan that Kindra okay." Kinrat told her.

"Where are you? What the hell are you doing out this late, kid?" Martha demanded, completely awake now.

Kinrat sighed, "Kindra at Masagi-do Dojo on big hill. Challenge Muten Masagi to match."

"YOU WHAT?!?" Martha shrieked. Kinrat pulled the receiver away from her ear as a string of loud curses came through. "Are you completely insane kid?!? ALBERT, WAKE UP! KAREN, YOU TOO! Kinrat, you get your butt back here immediately, you got me? Back here now!"

"No, Obasan," Kinrat replied calmly.

"NO!?!" Martha's voice reached an even higher pitch. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!"

"Kindra-san, perhaps Masagi should talk to Obasan?" Masagi suggested with a small grin.

"Hai, Masagi," Kinrat said with a soft snarl, handing him the phone.

"Mushi mushi! Masagi here." She listened to his side of the conversation. "Hai, Masagi accept Kindra-san's challenge." Pause. "Hai, Masagi know what girl capable of." Pause. "No, Masagi no have death wish." Pause. "Hai, come get girl when match finished." Pause. Pause. "Demo" Sigh. Pause. Pause. "Hai. Ja, mata ne! Sayonara!" He hung up the phone.

Kinrat felt her stomach flip when Masagi turned to her with a frown on his face. "Masagi think Obasan love Kindra-san very much." He said.

Kinrat gasped, "Nani?"

"Obasan's and Ojisan coming to get Kindra-san." He said with a small smile. "Perhaps we should start?"

"Hai!" Kinrat grinned, delighted that the old man wasn't going to let Martha bully him out of their match.

Kinrat followed him and Daniel back out into the courtyard and she and Masagi stood about ten feet apart.

"Remember, Kindra-san. Only spar, ok?" He reminded her.

Kinrat dropped into her fighting stance, "Hai, iseijin Masagi! Kinrat know! Now fight!" She snarled, her blood already singing its battle song through her ears.

Masagi dropped into his fighting stance. The two stood staring each other down. Then Kinrat gave a snarl and lunged towards the old man. Just as she reached him and was swinging at him, his form blurred and he disappeared. Kinrat's eyes widened in surprise.

"Nani?" She exclaimed, _The old man's faster than he looks!_ She looked quickly around and spotted him standing where she had been with a small smile on his face. "Baka!" She spat and lunged at him again.

When she reached him, he disappeared again but Kinrat watched carefully how he did it and followed his movements into the sky above the courtyard. With a yell, she followed. Masagi nodded when she reached him and started to block the flurry of punches and kicks she threw at him at lightening speed. The last kick he caught with both hands and sent her flipping through the air away from him.

"Not bad, old man." Kinrat snarled in Japanese as she halted herself in mid-air. "Perhaps I underestimated your strength."

"Perhaps you did, Kinrat-san." Masagi replied, crossing his arms across his chest.

Kinrat started at him using her proper name, her eyes narrowed. _Crafty old man!_ She thought, _Crafty, but not clever enough! Her hands began to glow._

--

"Damn that girl!" Martha snarled, steering the speeding car down the street. "How could she do this?!"

Albert gripped the handle on the door beside him and Karen hung onto him. "She's really pissed." Karen whispered to him.

"Yeah," Albert replied nervously. "Sometimes she's almost as bad as Kinrat!"

"I heard that!" Martha growled, peering through the front window. "Dammit! She's going to use her energy attacks!"

In the distance, on top of the hill, two pinpoints of light glowed. Suddenly, a beam streaked across the sky and there was an explosion of light followed by a soft rumbling sound.

"I'm gonna kill her!" Martha snarled and floored the accelerator.

--

Kinrat smiled triumphantly and watched the smoke clear. _That'll teach him!_ She thought smugly. She hadn't put her full strength behind the attack, she had promised not to kill him, but she was confident that it had been enough to knock him out of the sky and end the match. _Baka alien thought he could trick a Saiya-jin!_

"Kame!" Echoed through the courtyard. Kinrat's eyes widened.

"WHAT?! It's not possible!" She shrieked, looking around for him.

"Hame!!"

"Where are you, old man?!" She bellowed, reaching for her scouter.

"HAAAA!!!!!"

A beam of yellow and white energy streaked through the smoke and barreled into her. She struggled against it and then screamed when it smashed into her and sent her tumbling down to the cobblestones below. A few of the stones cracked under the impact of her body hitting them. She gasped in pain and struggled to regain the breath that had been knocked out of her. 

"How?" She croaked, looking for Masagi.

Masagi walked through the smoke and stood calmly in front of her with a small smile.

Kinrat sucked in gulps of air and struggled to sit upright. "How did you?" She asked.

Masagi held out his hand to her, "Masagi not as weak as Kindra-san thought, hai?"

Kinrat eyed the proffered hand warily for a moment and then took it, "Hai. Scouter said Masagi power only 250, much less than Kinrat's. How Masagi raise power so high?" She asked, getting to her feet. "What attack 'kame-hame-ha'? How so powerful?"

Masagi chuckled, put his arm around her shoulders, and led her to where Daniel was standing gape mouthed on the porch. "Masagi-san and Daniel-san can suppress power, keep low to give false reading to Kindra-san's scouter." He explained. "Kindra-san's attack almost get Masagi but Masagi move really fast out of the way."

Kinrat frowned as she digested the information,_ They can suppress their ki's? It's not possible! The scouter said his level was 250 but that last attack had more power than that! Felt like I was being hit with Otousan's strength._

"Then what 'kame-hame-ha' Masagi?" She asked. "Never seen attack like that before."

"Kamehameha technique that great-uncle Muten Roshi invent." He told her, as he sat down beside her.

Daniel sat down on the other side of her, "Hai, Sensei Roshi is a great martial artist. He won the Tenkaichi Budoukai about 35 years ago!" He said enthusiastically.

"Nan da Tenkaichi Bodoukai?" She asked, curious despite herself.

"Tenkaichi Bodoukai is a great tournament that's held every year in Japan," Masagi explained in Japanese, "Fighters from all around the world go to compete in it. The winner is declared the World's Strongest Person."

Daniel got a dreamy look on his face, "I hope that I can compete in it one day!" He said smiling.

_World's Strongest?_ A small smile flitted across Kinrat's lips. _That could have possibilities._

"KINDRA!!" Martha's voice bellowed from the bottom of the stairs to the Dojo.

Kinrat winced, Martha sounded really mad. Her three guardians appeared at the top moments later.

"Kindra Trent!" Martha scolded, rushing over to her. "Are you completely out of your tiny little mind?! What on Earth possessed you to come here in the middle of the night?!" She bobbed a brief bow to Masagi, "Please excuse her bad manners, sir. I hope she didn't hurt you."

Masagi chuckled and shook his head, "No, Kindra-san not hurt Masagi."

Martha blinked and looked at Kinrat suspiciously. The Saiya-jin blushed. Martha looked back at Masagi in amazement. "You? You won?" She asked him.

Karen rushed over to Kinrat and started running her hands over her, "Do you hurt anywhere?" She asked.

"Hai, side hurts little." Kinrat admitted softly, a little embarrassed. Then she leaned forward and whispered, "Tail hurt too."

Karen frowned, "Well, I'll take a look at it once we get back, ok?" She whispered back.

"Hai, Obasan Karen." Kinrat sighed.

"Where's your scouter, kid?" Albert asked when he noticed that it wasn't on her.

Kinrat's eyes widened as she felt around for it. "Don't know! Was there, but Masagi did Kamehameha on Kinrat and now isn't!" She said, panicked.

Karen restrained her from jumping up, "Relax, Kin, we'll find it. You just rest, okay?" She, Martha, Albert, and Daniel started searching around the courtyard and it's perimeter for it.

Kinrat slumped back onto the porch and glared at Masagi, "You fault if scouter broken Masagi!" She said angrily.

Masagi laughed, "Hai, Kindra-san, Masagi-san's fault if scouter is broken!"

"Masagi?" She said tentatively after a few moments of silence.

"Hai, Kindra-san?" Masagi replied, already guessing what she was about to say.

"If Kinrat become iseijin Masagi's student, will Masagi teach Kinrat how to hide ki and do kamehameha?" She asked, having to struggle to get the words out.

"Hai, if Kinrat listen to what Masagi say." He told her. "If Kinrat try to become more than Saiya-jin girl. Then Masagi will teach what Kinrat want to know."

Kinrat was silent for a few minutes, thinking it over. A part of her didn't want to be anything but a Saiya-jin but the more practical part of her said that if she learned from the old man she could evolve into something more than herself.

"Hai, sensei. Kinrat agree." She sighed.

--

Kinrat twitched. A sharp tingling shot up her legs, the urge to squirm overcame her and she fought it down with little success.

"Relax, Kindra-san," Masagi said where he sat beside her. "Breathe breathe in breathe out"

"Am breathing!" Kinrat snapped. "Can't help breathing!"

Masagi chuckled, "Breath like Masagi teach, in out" He prompted, she knew that he was probably waving his arms in front of him, again.

Kinrat sighed and resisted the urge to blast the old alien into the next dimension. She took deep breaths that filled her lungs slowly and suppressed down her power. After a moment, she opened her eyes and raised the pair of chopsticks in her right hand again. Her sharp dark eyes focussed in on the air above a small plate of sugar and the two flies buzzing around. A heartbeat later, the chopsticks snapped out, barely missing one of the flies. Kinrat frowned slightly and snapped down again with them missing the other too. As her next six attempts met with total failure, her frown deepened in to a scowl and a snarl came to her lips. 

Finally, she threw the chopsticks down in disgust. "BAH!" She growled, "Baka flies! Baka exercise! Bakabakashii sensei!"

She struggled to stand and to get her sleepy legs to support her but ended up falling back down hard on her backside, "Shimatta! Kuso!" She swore, her frustration and anger getting even worse. "Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! BAKA!" 

"Kindra" Masagi started to say.

"Tojikomeru, iseijin Masagi!" Kinrat snarled, "Isiejin Masagi-sensei promise teach Kindra about ki, how do to kamehameha, not chase flies with chopsticks, not how to paint fence, not how to wash car! Kindra no student! Kindra iseijin Masagi's slave!"

The feeling in her legs finally returned and she got to her feet. She stood with her fists on her hips and her eyes flashed dangerously, "Kinrat not slave! Kinrat Saiya-jin warrior! Either Masagi teach Kinrat what Masagi know, or deal with Masagi off!"

Masagi listened to her rant calmly before slowly getting to his feet, "Come," Masagi said softly, motioning Kinrat to follow him into the courtyard.

Kinrat growled softly and followed. _Baka sensei! I'd be better off training by myself! _She thought angrily and began to come up with at least a hundred different ways to slowly kill the martial artist. There was an extremely evil grin on the young girls face by the time Masagi stopped in the middle of the courtyard and faced her.

"Begin," He ordered calmly, dropping into his fighting stance.

Kinrat blinked, surprised, and then grinned as she dropped into her own stance. She waited for him to throw the first punch, which he did at an almost mind boggling speed. Her hands instinctively came up a blocked it. Kinrat blinked again in surprise.

"Ahmm" She stammered.

Masagi threw another punch and she blocked it.

Punch. Block.

Punch. Block. Punch. Block.

Kick. Block. Grin. Punch. Block. Kick. Block. Chuckle.

"Kinrat want be strong, hai?" Punch.

Block. "Hai!"

Kick. Block. Punch. Block. Grab Huh? FLIP!

"Then Kinrat learn!" 

Kinrat did some flips in mid air and landed on her feet. "Hai sensei!" She replied a split second before a ki blast came streaking towards her. 

She dodged.

"Kame!"

Kinrat watched him closely and mimicked his movements and ki flow, "Kame!" 

"Hame!"

"Hame!"

"HAAAA!!!!"

Her weak beam was intercepted by his stronger one almost in the middle. She matched him level for level until her inexperience with the technique won out and she was overwhelmed. She gave a frustrated growl as she was knocked off her feet and sent skidding across the cobblestones. 

Masagi walked over to where she stopped and looked down at her grinning, "Kinrat still have lot to learn."

"Hai, sensei!" She groaned.

--

12 BF

"KAMEHAMEHA!!!" Kinrat screamed.

Her beam streaked across the ring to the battered and startled boy standing there. He leapt into the air in an attempt to dodge it. Kinrat growled and twisted her hands, the beam curved and followed him upwards. He gave an angry shout as it smashed into him. There was a brief explosion and he tumbled back down onto the hard surface below. He gave a soft groan as he struggled to get to his knees but his arms gave out and he slumped back down onto the ground.

When he didn't move to get up again, a white clad referee stepped into the ring and raised a green flag. "WINNER, GREEN!" He announced.

The crowd in the stands around her went insane with cheers. Kinrat allowed herself a small smirk of triumph before her own weary legs gave out and she sat heavily on the ground. Seconds later she was surrounded by her guardians, Daniel, Muten Masagi and several Junior Tournament officials. She hissed in pain as she was hauled to her feet by them and pounded congratulatory on the back.

"Kin! You did it!" Karen crowed, giving her a big hug.

Kinrat struggled in her arms but really didn't have the strength to pull away, "Hai, Obasan Karen." She sighed.

Seconds later she was being ripped out of Karen's arms by Martha who looked down at her fiercely for a moment before pulling her into an embrace, "You did it kid, and you didn't kill anyone to do it," She heard Martha say. "I'm proud of you."

Kinrat blinked in surprise, "M Martha-san" She stammered softly.

"Don't say it, kid." Martha grumbled as she released her. "I already know."

Kinrat blinked dazedly as she was turned around to face Albert, Daniel, and Masagi. She smiled slyly at them, "So, now Kinrat start training for Tenkaichi Boudokai?" She asked.

Both Masagi and Daniel chuckled and Albert blinked in surprise, "You sure you want to compete in that one?" Albert asked, concerned.

Kinrat nodded vigorously and winced when it made her head throb painfully, "Hai, Albert-san. Kindra want to compete in big tournament."

Albert sighed and shook his head. I don't think I'll ever truly understand her. He thought sadly as he watched Masagi and Daniel lead her out of the ring to the change rooms.

"Did good, Kindra-san." Masagi beamed as he supported her by her arm.

"Domo arigato, sensei," Kinrat gasped, she still couldn't believe how tired she was.

"Yeah, you were so awesome!" Daniel babbled, practically bouncing beside her. "I mean, there was a moment that I thought that you weren't going to make it but the way you threw that kamehameha it was!"

"Awesome hai, wakatta, Daniel-san," Kinrat groaned. 

As much as she hated to admit it, there was a moment that she thought she was going to lose during the last match too. Maybe it was because she had fought over thirty opponents that day, each more powerful than the last, or maybe it was because he was more powerful than she originally sensed, she didn't know. All she did know was that she'd had to pull together most of her remaining power to pull off her last attack. Baka iteki! Never know what they're going to do next! She thought grumpily as Masagi led her into their assigned part of the change rooms and helped her climb up on the bench.

She was so tired, she didn't even protest when Masagi started to unwrap the black sash around her waist that concealed her tail. She gave a small hiss of pain as he gently revealed the furry appendage and unwound it from around her waist. It hurt, her tail may not be as sensitive as some Saiya-jins but she had taken a few direct hits to it that day and it was aching something awful. She twitched it behind her, hoping to alleviate the pain that way and to get the blood moving in it again.

Masagi raised an eyebrow when he saw the movement of the girl's tail, "Should get Obasan to look at tail too." He said quietly, helping her to remove the top of the Gi.

Daniel promptly left the room. Kinrat shook her head and laughed softly, "Baka iteki!"

_I think... I'm actually starting to like them._

* * *


End file.
